When Our Eyes Met
by Proud-to-be-Insane
Summary: Chris is starting afresh in San Franscisco, hoping to leave his old life in New York behind. A new relationship is the last thing on his mind, but when he meets Wyatt Halliwell, he can't help wondering... FULL SUMMARY INSIDE.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed or any of it's characters.

Summary: Chris is starting afresh in San Franscisco, hoping to leave his old life in New York behind. A new relationship is the last thing on his mind, but when he meets Wyatt Halliwell, he can't help wondering...Even Wyatt can't deny that underlying attraction. However, Wyatt is engaged and this makes things more than a little complicated. SLASH

A/N Yes tis me! A new story; wow. I never thought I'd make up a new one when Iwas in the middle of writing MTWMTE (which is my baby) but here it is! This plot bunny just wouldn't go away and I couldn't stop myself! So I really hope you wonderful people enjoy it!

* * *

Chris let out an exhausted sigh and shifted the heavy cardboard box in his arms. He paused on the stairs, trying to catch his breath. He'd already trudged up 10 flights and he was regretting his decision of not taking the elevator.

Finally convincing himself to climb the last set of stairs, he started up them again, feeling as though his arms were about to drop off. Thankfully it was the last box and he'd finally be able to unpack is things in his new apartment.

He'd moved to San Francisco from New York the week before and had been staying in a one star hotel (he barely had enough money to feed himself, never mind stay in posh hotels) until he'd gotten the keys to his apartment. It was a nice complex, with a swimming pool and barbecue area outside for the tenants to use whenever they wanted. Now finally, he was able to move in.

It was pretty daunting moving to a new city when he didn't know anybody there. But he knew it was something he had to do, especially if he wanted to start afresh with his life. There was just too many painful memories back home, ones he'd rather forget.

He was nearly at the top of the stairs now. Only six steps to go. But those six steps seemed to grow into a massive mountain, one his tired legs were struggling to climb. Chris paused again, trying to breath through the aching pains in his body. He should have hired a removal company.

Forcing himself to move again, he tried to climb the next step. However, he misjudged it and slipped. The box went flying from his arms as he fell backwards with a yelp, waiting for the pain off hitting the stairs.

But instead he fell against a broad chest, a pair of strong arms wrapping around him, stopping his fall and inevitable injury.

"Whoa, steady there." A voice said lightly in his ear.

Chris froze and winced as he heard the box crashing somewhere behind them. He didn't move for a moment, his breathing fast and his heart beating rapidly. The arms were still wrapped around him, steadying him, and he would be lying if he said he didn't feel safe being held like that...

Chris swallowed, breaking his thoughts, and steadied himself. He stepped away from his saviours arms and turned around to thank him, a blush creeping on to his cheeks.

"Thanks, I-I slipped." He stuttered, slightly shaken by his fall.

The man gave him a friendly smile. His eyes were a crystal blue colour and he had dark blonde hair which looked as if he'd been running his hands through it. He was much taller than Chris, probably by about a head, and his frame was strong and broad.

"Lucky I was coming up then huh? That could have been nasty." He said cheerfully.

Chris nodded, smiling back shyly whilst inwardly cursing himself. What a way to make first impressions.

The man bent down and picked up the box, putting it back on its base. Half of Chris's belongings had fell over the stairs and Chris started to pick them up, feeling more like an idiot than ever. He felt a pang in his heart when he saw a framed picture of his parents with the glass practically completely shattered. He slowly picked it up, careful not to cut himself on the broken glass, and carefully placed it back in the box with his other belongings.

"Just moving in?" the man asked him, helping gather some of the other items which had thankfully escaped being broken.

Chris looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah."

He placed the last item into the box and went to pick it up again, but he was stopped.

"Wait, let me carry that for you." The man said, picking up the box with ease. "Wouldn't want you falling again."

Chris blushed again. "Thanks."

He turned around and led the way up the stairs to his apartment, his face burning. This was so embarrassing, though he did feel grateful that this guy was being kind enough to help him. But carrying the box for him made Chris look like such a weakling.

It was easy to tell which apartment was his. It was the one with the door open and the inside like a bomb had went off. It would take ages for him to get completely sorted out.

He stepped inside and gestured for the guy to place the box with the others.

"Thanks." Chris said, smiling gratefully when he straightened up.

"No problem." The guy said, flashing a smile back at him.

He stretched out his hand. "I'm Wyatt by the way. Wyatt Halliwell."

Chris shook his hand. "Chris Perry."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Chris." Wyatt said with a kind smile.

"Yeah, you too."

Wyatt moved towards the door and turned around.

"Oh, and if you need anything my apartment is just down the hall." He said and with another smile he left Chris to get on with the unpacking.

Chris let out a deep breath and cast a weary eye around the room. Boxes covered the floor in an overall mess and he knew it'd take him at least a week to get it all as he wanted it. He wasn't even sure which box his clothes were packed in.

Sighing, Chris knelt down beside one of the boxes and grudgingly started to unpack it.

* * *

Groaning sleepily, Chris fell back on his mattress (that still didn't have a sheet on it), and closed his eyes. It was only six o'clock at night but already he was exhausted. He'd managed to only unpack around a quarter of the boxes he guessed and the thought of trying to unpack more did NOT fill him with much enthusiasm. 

He considered phoning home, at least to hear a familiar voice, but he decided against it. He'd phone them later, when he was completely settled in, so they couldn't persuade him to move back to New York.

But god, he missed them. Out here, he was all alone. And he wasn't even sure why.

Just when he was about to doze off, he heard a loud knocking on the front door. He opened one eye reluctantly and considered pretending he wasn't in, but his curiosity got the better of him and he got up.

Opening the door, he was surprised to see Wyatt, the man that had stopped him from breaking his neck, standing there.

"Uh, hi." He forced out, wondering why he was there.

"Hey." Wyatt said with a smile. "I know you've just moved in and you're probably tired, but I was just wondering if you wanted to come for a drink with me and a few friends?"

Chris blinked. "Uh..."

"They're all tenants here so it'd be a good way to meet people. Plus the club we're going to is just down the road." Wyatt pressed, trying to persuade him.

Chris thought about it for a moment. Wyatt had a point, it'd be a great way to meet people and possibly make new friends. And it would do him good to get out of the apartment.

"Okay." He said. "Just let me get my jacket."

Wyatt smiled. "K."

Chris walked into his bedroom and scanned the room for a suitable jacket he could wear. He'd tipped his clothes in there earlier and he hadn't sorted them out yet. He finally spotted a thin black one that lay sprawled on the floor and he hurriedly slipped it on. Fishing the keys out of his pocket he walked out of his bedroom towards the door, only stopping beside the picture of his parents (which was now in a new frame and sitting on a small wooden table) and kissing two fingers and touching the faces, before leaving his apartment.

Wyatt was leaning casually against the wall beside the door, his arms crossed across his chest. Chris locked the door.

"Everyone's down beside the pool. They're actually waiting for me, so we better get going." Wyatt said, stepping away from the wall.

Chris nodded, mumbling a "K". He wasn't particularly shy by nature but he was when meeting new people. Especially ones that weren't too bad on the eye...

"You look nice by the way." Wyatt said, casting a glance back at him as they made their way down the flights of stairs.

Chris, taken aback by the compliment, just blushed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Thanks." He said shyly.

He looked down at himself, not really sure what was particularly nice looking. He was just wearing plain jeans (that were getting pretty worn by now) and a green t-shirt along with the black jacket on top. Plus, his hair was a mess (he really should have brushed it before facing fellow human beings).

Finally they reached the bottom and Wyatt led the way to the pool area outside. Chris hadn't actually been there so he looked around with interest. Since it was night, no-one was actually swimming but there were a lot of people sitting about on the loungers.

Wyatt waved to a particular group of five sitting not far from the barbecue area. A couple waved back, some others calling over to him to hurry his ass up. Wyatt grinned and quickened his pace, gesturing for Chris to follow him, which he did rather shyly.

"What took you so long?" A brunette girl asked in frustration, flicking her hair away from her face.

"Didn't you know? It takes him an hour to get his hair _just _right." A guy beside her said with a grin.

"I wasn't gone that long!" Wyatt protested. "And anyway, I was attending to something else if you must know."

He pulled Chris forward slightly so his friends could see him.

"This is Chris. He's just moved in and doesn't know anyone so I invited him along." He said, one hand on Chris's shoulder.

"Oh," a black haired woman began, swinging her legs around so she was facing him properly. She held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Kacey."

"Hi." Chris replied, shaking her hand.

He was guessing she was a goth guessing by her all black appearance. Her skin was very white and she had a skull design on her shoes. Chris noticed she had her tongue pierced by the flash of silver he saw when she talked.

"I'm Tony." The guy sitting beside the brunette girl said, also sticking out his hand. He had to stretch forward slightly to reach him.

Chris shook his hand, smiling at him slightly. He was a similar build to Wyatt and he obviously shaved his head judging by the short bristles he had for hair. He had a small silver hoop earring in his right ear and because he was wearing a t-shirt, Chris could see a large tattoo going down one of his large arms. He was a pretty intimidated sight to be honest.

"Rebecca." The brunette girl said airily as if she was bored, giving him a small wave with one perfectly manicured hand.

She reminded Chris of all the really popular girls that had went to his high school. Slim, a load of lip gloss and mascara, short skirt, high heels, slightly snobby. He'd never really liked those girls.

Despite this though, he smiled at her. First impressions weren't always right after all.

The other girl sitting beside her wasn't nearly as bad. She had red hair, with freckles speckling her nose, and wore grey jeans and a black and silver top. She smiled at him.

"Hey Chris, I'm Lisa." She said, also waving since she'd have to climb over Kacey to shake his hand.

"Hi."

"I'm Andy." Said another guy, lying right back on the lounge.

He was the most interesting looking of them all. His hair was black and short, but spiked up with pink tips and if Chris wasn't mistaken, he could have sworn he was wearing eye make-up. He wore glasses and with his black jeans (with black high heels to match) he had on a pink sparkly belt. His fingernails were painted black but a few had diamantes on them.

"Uh, hi." Chris replied after blinking.

"Don't worry, you'll get over the initial shock of Franny the Tranny's appearance in a few minutes." Tony said lightly and he chuckled as Andy sent him a rude gesture.

Chris smiled at them, glad that none of Wyatt's friends seemed to think he was intruding. In fact, they'd all been pretty welcoming (apart from that Rebecca person).

"Well are we going or what?" Wyatt asked before Andy and Tony started bickering.

"Hey, we were waiting for you." Kacey said, jumping to her feet.

Everyone else also stood up, Rebecca sighing gustily because they were "_finally_ going". Tony nudged her and she yelped as she staggered on her four inch heels. She scowled at him as he laughed at her, and gave him a shove which only made him laugh harder.

They decided to walk to the club because A. It was just down the road like Wyatt had said and B. They'd probably be too drunk to walk in a straight line when they came out, never mind drive.

Wyatt had fallen back to talk with Tony and Andy, who were again name calling and Chris, now feeling slightly out of place, was walking slightly behind them.

"So Chris," Kacey began, coming up beside him and linking arms. "Where'd you come from?"

"Uh, New York." Chris replied, slightly taken aback by her friendliness.

"Oh I'd love to go to New York!" Lisa said enthusiastically, after walking up and linking with his other arm.

"Why'd you move here?" Kacey asked as they got out on to the street, the boys and Rebecca leading the way to the club.

Chris shrugged. "I dunno. Just needed to get away from there I guess."

"So you move to the other side of the country? Wow." Kacey replied.

"So you didn't know anybody when you moved here?" Lisa asked.

Chris shook his head. "Nope."

"Well you know us now so you don't need to worry." Kacey said with a smile.

"I pity him actually. Us being the first friends he makes." Lisa said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, me too."

"Why's that?" Chris asked curiously.

"Well just look at us. You have a goth, a freckly red-head, macho man, a tranny and Malibu Barbie." Kacey said lightly and Lisa giggled, nodded her head in agreement.

"You missed out Wyatt." She pointed out.

"Oh, well he's the normal one." Kacey said sincerely and Chris smiled.

"So what could Chris be?" Lisa asked as if Chris wasn't standing between them.

"He can be the young cute one." Kacey replied.

"That's quite a compliment, considering she's a lesbian." Lisa said lightly to Chris.

"You are?" Chris asked, surprised.

"Yup. I'm a lesbian, Lisa's my lover-

"Oh you wish!" Lisa cut in, laughing.

Kacey grinned. "As I was saying, I like girls, Andy and Becca like boys, and Lisa, Tony and Wyatt like both."

"I thought Wyatt was straight..."Lisa said thoughtfully.

"Nah, he's Bi but he's swinging more to the female side at the moment, as is obvious." Kacey replied.

"Has he got a girlfriend?" Chris asked curiously.

"Nope, a fiancée." Kacey replied.

Wyatt was engaged? Well he certainly hadn't been expecting that.

"Urgh don't mention her." Lisa complained, scrunching her nose as if there was a bad smell.

"You don't like her?" Chris queried curiously.

Lisa sighed. "She's alright, she's just a bit..."

"Boring." Kacey finished for her. "She's very goody-two-shoes nicey nicey, if you know what I mean."

"Tony likes her." Lisa pointed out.

"No honey, Tony likes her tits." Said Kacey and Lisa snorted.

Chris couldn't help smiling at her comment. It amazed him that they could be so open about everything when he'd just met them. It made him feel comfortable, as if he'd known them for a while.

"So what about you Chris?" Lisa asked, snapping him from his thoughts.

"What about me?"

"Well, are you straight or...?"

Chris's face flushed. It was quite a personal question to ask him for a start.

"Uh..."

"Oh come on, don't be shy! We told you." Kacey pressed.

Chris didn't say anything, suddenly feeling pretty uncomfortable.

"Are you straight?" Lisa asked, trying to help.

Just deciding to tell them, Chris shook his head."No."

"So you're gay?"

Chris nodded.

"Cool! You'll fit right in!" Lisa said with a laugh. "Not like you wouldn't anyway though of course."

Chris smiled, feeling slightly better. They hadn't reacted like a certain couple of friends back home had, anyway.

They finally reached the club and Chris could hear the pounding music and loud chatter and laughter from behind the doors. Tony led the way inside after they got past the bouncer and they passed countless people, looking for a spare table they could sit at. Finally they found one not far from the bar and sat down around it.

"Wyatt's mom owns this club." Andy called over the noise. He grinned. "We get discounts."

Chris smiled back at him and looked at Tony who was currently asking everyone what they wanted to drink.

"You're old enough to drink alcohol right?" he asked, looking at Chris.

Chris nodded, feeling flattered and slightly annoyed that he looked younger than he actually was. He was twenty two but everybody still thought he was a teenager.

"What you wanting to drink?" Tony then asked.

"Just a beer, thanks." Chris said absently, not really minding. He stood up. "I'll come help you."

Whilst he and Tony went to get the drinks, Wyatt turned to everyone else.

"So what'd you guys think of Chris then?" he asked.

"He's cute." Rebecca and Andy said in unison. They frowned at each other.

Wyatt shook his head at them, grinning.

"Well let him settle in first before you decide to hit on him will ya?" he said.

"Oh like you don't think so too." Andy snorted. "Don't think I didn't see you looking at his ass."

"I was not!" Wyatt protested hotly. Luckily it was too dark for them to see his face had gone red.

"Hey, you may be engaged but it doesn't mean you can't appreciate a good piece of eye candy." Andy replied with a shrug.

"I wasn't looking at his ass!"

"Who's ass?" Tony asked, placing Wyatt's drink in front of him.

Wyatt nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw Chris standing there, also handing out drinks. He hoped to god he hadn't heard anything. Kacey and Lisa were trying to hide their laughter by covering their mouths with one hand and Andy was grinning as he pretended to examine his nails. Rebecca just flicked her hair back and sipped her cocktail.

"No-one." Wyatt replied gruffly, and he took a swig of his beer.

He swallowed as Chris sat down next to him, ignoring the smug grin Andy was giving him.

"Okay," Said Rebecca, patting the table with her hands. "Who's gonna come dance with me?"

When no-one answered, her shoulders sagged.

"Oh gee, thanks guys." She said sarcastically. She stood up. "Fine, I'll go dance with that cute guy."

And she left the table, flicking her hair and flashing a smile at the guy in the corner who was giving her The Eye.

Andy clapped his hands together. "Shots anyone?"

* * *

Bursting out of the club, the group of young adults were laughing so hard, Chris thought he was going to topple over. Andy tried to get out an incoherent sentence but just end laughing again, his glasses slipping down his nose. Needless to say, they were all VERY drunk. 

"I..I think...we..." Tony tried to get out but he too started laughing.

"We...we need to...go home.." Wyatt said, his words slurring.

He and Tony started singing loudly together as they all started making their way back to the apartment complex, completely out of tune and forgetting half of the words.

"Come on Chris." Wyatt said, his tone cheerful as he stopped singing for a moment.

He slung one arm around Chris's shoulders (a very easy task considering Chris was so small compared to him) and started singing again. Chris laughed and joined in, not really sure what he was singing.

All too soon, they reached the apartment complex. Wyatt's friends all stayed on the lower floors, meaning Chris and Wyatt were left stumbling and laughing up the stairs together.

"You know," Wyatt began matter of factly. "I'm getting married."

"Uh huh," Chris replied, nodding his head. "Kacey told me. Or was it Lisa?..."

"You can come to the party if you want." Wyatt offered.

Chris opened his mouth to reply but he tripped up the stairs, banging his shin painfully.

"Ouch." He moaned and Wyatt laughed, helping him back to his feet.

Finally they reached their floor, making more noise than was probably allowed. Chris, with some difficulty, managed to get his keys out of his pocket.

"There you are!"

They both turned around startled to see a blonde woman standing in the doorway of the apartment across the hall from Chris's. Her arms were crossed across her chest and she was tapping her foo.

"Hi Carla!" Wyatt called happily.

He walked over to his fiancée, throwing his arms around her in a big bear hug.

"Urgh! You're drunk!" Carla complained, pulling away.

"Yes I am!" Wyatt said proudly and he laughed. Carla shook her head disapprovingly at him.

"Oh!" Wyatt said suddenly. He turned and gestured at Chris. "Carla this is Chris, my new friend. Chris this is my fiancée Carla."

"Nice to meet you." Carla said but she didn't sound at all pleased.

"Yeah you too." Chris said, sounding quite distant due to his drunken state.

Carla looked at Wyatt.

"Wyatt, inside. Now." She demanded and she turned on her heel, marching into the apartment.

"Bye Chris." Wyatt called, following her.

"Bye!" Chris replied as Wyatt closed the door, fumbling with the keys as he tried to open his own door.

Finally he managed to get inside and he passed the boxes, ignoring them completely. He went into his bedroom and kicked off his sneakers, yawning. He collapsed on to his sheetless bed, closing his eyes in exhaustion. What a way to spend his first day.

And with thoughts of Wyatt Halliwell and all his friends in is mind, Chris fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

God, I HATE writing first chapters! But there you go, done and dusted! Please review!

Btw; Wyatt's friends are actually based on my own friends except from Rebecca. She's based on a girl I don't like! But anyway, even though they've played quite a major part in this chapter, they probably won't from now on. A few appearances now and again at he most.

Hugs,

Proud-to-be-Insane


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Hey people! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I had writers block, then I wentaway on holiday for two weeks, then I had MORE writers block, so yeah, you can see the problem! But it's here now!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed! Oh and btw; HauntedPast, I think it was, if you're readng this, I WILL get round to replying your review for MTWMTE, I've just been busy! But I will do it!

Oh and if anyone was wondering, this is a NON-magic fic. Chris, Wyatt and their families are normal people. Thought I'd clear that up before we continue further!

This chapter, and many more chapters to come, is dedicated to Long-Live-Christopher for her amazing help on this story! She's helped me a lot with future chapters and just the over all story, and she's just wonderful! So this is for you sis:-P

* * *

Hangovers. Chris hated them. That sharp, pounding headache, the sandpapery dry feeling in his mouth, the sensitivity to bright light. It was the reason he didn't drink that often. 

So when he woke that morning, fully clothed and lying sprawled on the bed, he was very disheartened to realise he had exactly that.

"Urgh..." he groaned, rolling over and burying his face into the mattress. There were no curtains on the window yet and the sun was streaming in, bright and unforgiving.

He wondered vaguely what time it was as he tried to block out he light (to no affect. It was either suffer the light or suffocate). Groaning, he lifted his head and blearily opened his eyes so he could look at his watch. He couldn't remember what time it was when he got home the night before. And it was ten in the morning now and judging by his exhaustion, he knew it had been pretty late. Or early, whichever way you want to put it.

Rubbing his eyes, Chris forced himself to sit up, his head pounding. Squinting his eyes against the light, he looked around the room. The thought of trying to sort out more boxes today, filled him with dread, especially with having such a bad headache. He knew it needed to be done but he really didn't want to do it today. Maybe he could afford to leave it for later...

Yawning and trying to ignore the shooting pain in his head, Chris stood up and started rifling through one of the cardboard boxes on the floor for shampoo, soap, toothpaste and his toothbrush. He'd hopefully feel better after getting freshened up. He grabbed a towel and left his bedroom, his arms full.

The bathroom was tiny but he hardly expected otherwise. Stepping into the shower, he turned it on and enjoyed the feeling of the hot water running over him. It was refreshing and wakened him up. He lathered the shampoo into his hair, trying to get rid of last nights grime, and afterwards rinsed it out.

After washing his body, Chris turned off the stream of water and stepped out of the shower. He wrapped himself in the towel, having forgotten to bring clothes into the bathroom with him, and stopped at the sink to brush his teeth.

He had two cardboard boxes full of clothes with him and rifling though them, he picked out another pair of plain jeans and a t-shirt and got dressed. He moved to the mirror fixed to the wall to try and see if he could make his hair look at least slightly presentable.

He only spent two minutes on his hair, before falling into old habits again. Moving so that he was side on to the mirror, he smoothed down his t-shirt, checking... Did he look slim enough? He wasn't so sure...

Closing his eyes, Chris forced himself to turn around so he was facing the mirror properly again. He'd beaten this months ago...

Chris opened his eyes, and slowly his hand reached upwards to that familiar spot. A scar, still slightly red, ran from behind his ear down to near the middle of his neck. He touched it and shivered. It was a constant reminder...

He shook his head and moved away from the mirror. He hated about thinking about his past, it was too painful. But sometimes he couldn't stop those horrible memories filtering back, no matter how hard he tried to suppress them.

His stomach was rumbling so he went into the small kitchenette. He'd brought a pack of cereal and bought a pack of apples and a loaf of bread before he'd started moving the stuff in. They made the cupboards look very empty, sitting there by themselves. Fishing an apple out of the bag they were kept in, he bit into it and picked up his book that was lying on the counter. He read a couple of pages whilst he ate his apple and once he finished he throw the core in the bin. He was still slightly hungry but moved to walk away despite this.

He had started to walk back to his bedroom but stopped himself, taking in a deep breath. If he was hungry, he should eat more. He forced himself to go back to the kitchenette, feeling slightly disappointed in himself. He'd been fighting this for months now, and he'd nearly slipped into that horrible way of thinking that had been drummed into him years ago again. He was determined to not let it beat him. He wanted to put everything behind him.

Chris looked at the photo of his parents in its brand new frame as he ate cereal out of the box with a spoon (he had no milk). He wondered what they'd think of him now. What they would have thought of him a couple of years ago. He imagined their disappointed faces when they realised how easily he'd been manipulated, or how sad they'd be that he was practically running away from his past instead of facing it.

Sighing and feeling slightly sick, Chris put the cereal aside and looked out the window. It was a beautiful day outside and from his view of the pool he could see a lot of the tenants had decided to take advantage.

'I won't be doing that any time soon.' He thought grudgingly as he looked at the cardboard boxes.

He really needed to make another go at getting it all done. So _very _reluctantly he walked over to the boxes and tried to get some order.

* * *

Wyatt groaned into his pillow as he woke up, his hangover headache hitting him like a train at full speed. He rolled over on to his back, scrunching his nose in disgust as he felt a wet patch near his ear where he'd obviously been drooling in his sleep. 

Sharp pain shot through his head as the light shone in his eyes. Carla had taken it upon herself to open the curtains and let the bright sunshine in. It was to punish him of course.

But even so, _no _person with a hangover deserved that kind of treatment.

Groaning again, he sat up. He could hear the radio playing in the kitchen and as he ran a hand through his hair, he looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was late morning and he knew from past experience that Carla was probably fuming away at the kitchen table, waiting to unexpectedly let her anger out at him the moment he stepped outside the bedroom.

Thinking about this, Wyatt considered crawling under the covers again and hiding. Carla's temper nearly rivalled his mom's and THAT was saying something.

He knew he had to face her sometime though. Being a Saturday, she didn't have work and so he couldn't even avoid her whilst she was there. So he groaned and threw the covers back, getting out the bed. He yawned and rubbed the back of his head as he opened the door, ready to face the fireworks.

Just as he'd predicted, she was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee. Her eyes were unfocused as she stared blankly at a spot on the table, obviously deep in thought. Her head snapped up when she heard him and her eyes instantly hardened as she gave him the classic glare women use when they're pissed at their partners.

"How's your head?" she asked with an edge to her voice.

"Good." Wyatt replied, keeping his voice light as he walked over.

She threw him an annoyed/disgusted look and took another gulp of her coffee. Wyatt sat down opposite her, pouring some for himself.

"So did you have a good time last night?" Carla asked, her voice tight.

"Yeah, it was good."

"Who was that guy you were with?" Carla asked. Wyatt didn't miss the accusing tone.

"I told you last night. His name's Chris; he just moved in." Wyatt replied.

"Quite attractive isn't he?"

"I dunno, is he?"

"Well he's your type." Carla said coldly.

Wyatt shook his head in exasperation. 'Here we go again' he thought.

Carla had a very old school family and had been brought up in a very old school way. She and her family were very religious and disapproved greatly of homosexuals so it was no secret that she hated the fact that he liked members of the same sex as well as girls. She regularly made digs about it, said things in a mocking tone or made fun of his friends who she _hated _with a passion. They didn't know this though because she had a knack of being able to put on the nice girl image.

"I just met him." Wyatt said. "He's cool. As a friend."

"Well are you HIS type?" Carla asked pissily.

"What?"

"Well, he probably fits into THAT crowd." Carla said, after taking a sip of her coffee.

Wyatt rolled his eyes. "Having another dig at my friends are you?"

Carla smiled sweetly. "Of course not."

Wyatt just shook his head at her and looked away. He so wasn't in the mood to deal with this.

He wasn't even allowed to make friends without her getting suspicious or jealous in some way. It was ridiculous but Wyatt had managed to put up with it for quite a long time. It was just a flaw of hers.

But still. It was like she thought that because he was having a laugh with someone it meant he was going to have some passionate affair. She was especially suspicious if it was a guy which didn't really make sense considering he'd been with more women than men.

She'd been like that with Tony and Andy at first, which had made Wyatt practically laugh at her. Him with one of them two? Yeah right! They were SO not his type in so many ways.

"_Well he's your type."_

Thinking of this particular comment made his mind drift to Chris and started wondering; Was Chris his type?

Well, yes and no. No because Chris was the complete opposite to Carla. She was blonde, curvy and lightly tanned, with powder blue eyes and high self-confidence. Chris however, was dark haired and fair skinned, with bright green eyes and a sort of...innocent look about him. It was quite nice... He was small too, petite really, and looked as if Wyatt wouldn't have any trouble in lifting him with just one arm.

This was also the yes because Chris was undeniably gorgeous in his own right. And Wyatt hadn't had any trouble noticing this fact when he saved him from falling down the stairs the first time they met.

But he'd never try flirting with him or making a move. Appreciating someone's good looks didn't mean anything, and it was high time Carla realised this. Chris was a friend, a new friend, and that was it.

Wyatt focused his attention on the sunshine and looked back at Carla.

"It's a nice day. Want to go down to the pool?" he asked, having the need to change the subject. Hopefully the sun would make her relax.

Carla shrugged indifferently. "Fine. Whatever."

Wyatt patted the table with his hands and stood up, leaving his cup of coffee abandoned. A nice dip in the pool sounded good. He just had to wear sunglasses so the sun wouldn't give him a god-i-feel-like-I'm-dying headache.

"I'll go get changed then." He said, trying to keep his voice cheerful.

He walked round the back of Carla and placed a kiss on top of her soft blonde head. He could almost feel her rolling her eyes but he found himself not caring, as he whistled on his way to the bedroom.

* * *

Chris groaned in irritation and threw the cup back in the cardboard box. He was sick and tired of unpacking stuff. His legs and back were aching, his head was now pounding and he was just totally fed up. Why did moving have to be so damn stressful?! 

He was sitting on the floor on what would become the living area, a cardboard box full of kitchen stuff between his legs. _Why _he was unpacking kitchen stuff in the living area, he was yet to figure out.

Chris rubbed his eyes wearily and looked wistfully at the sun streaming in from the window. He could see the sky; clear blue with not even a wisp of a cloud. Nearly everyone in the apartment complex was probably beside the pool and it pissed him off.

He looked down critically at the box. Surely an hour wouldn't hurt? Then he could come back up and do more of the unpacking.

Pleased with his plan, Chris stood up and walked through to his bedroom so he could change into something more suitable.

* * *

Sighing in relief, Chris settled himself on to an empty lounger outside. The sun was beating down and he lay back, letting the heat wash over him. The air was filled with the sound of people talking and laughing, and the sound of splashing as people mucked about in the pool. Smiling, Chris opened his book and brought his knees up slightly as he started to read. This was just the break he needed. 

He'd just read a couple of pages when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He looked over the top of his book and saw Wyatt and Carla walking past the pool and over to two free loungers. Carla didn't look very happy in his opinion, but that was probably due to the fact Wyatt had been steaming drunk the night before.

Chris went to continue reading his book, when Wyatt caught his attention again. He looked over, just as Wyatt pulled off the t-shirt he had on, revealing a very nicely toned torso.

Chris swallowed and looked back at the page of his book. He had a strange feeling in his stomach; a sort of fluttery, back flipping feeling, and he didn't know why. Shaking his head, Chris focused on his book and tried to keep reading.

But the words kept wiggling about on the page, and he found himself peering over the top of the book again, watching as Wyatt dived into the pool. His stomach did another back flip as he broke the surface and smoothed his hair back from his face, laughing at Carla who looked horrified at having just being soaked by the splash.

Surely he didn't have a crush... Was it possible to get a crush on someone after only knowing them for a day? Maybe. He didn't know.

Well, even if he did have a crush, Wyatt was engaged. So he could never do anything about it. Committed men were strictly off limits. And besides, he'd told himsef he wouldn't be getting involved with anyone any time soon. Not after his last relationship.

Chris sat up, folded down the corner of his page and closed his book. There was no point in being down here when he had so much unpacking to do upstairs. A stupid whim he should have ignored. So with one last quick glance at Wyatt, he stood up and hurried back to his apartment.

* * *

His phone was ringing. He could hear it jingling away in the kitchen. 

"Leave me alone!" Chris shouted at it from his spot on the living room floor. Of course he wouldn't be heard but he couldn't be bothered getting up again after just sitting down.

It kept ringing persistently even though Chris was trying his best to ignore it, which gave him a pretty good idea who it was. He had a one in three chance of getting it right.

Groaning but feeling slightly excited anyway, he got up and hurried to his cellphone. He grinned when he saw the name on the screen and pressed the answer call button, putting it to his ear.

"Hi Mark, I'm fine, yes I'm eating, yes I'm locking the door and no, I've not changed my mind about staying." He said before Mark even had the chance to say hello, trying to suppress a laugh.

There was a pause. "Great. Bye."

Chris laughed and he could hear the smile in Mark's voice as he said; "Hey Kid."

"Hi. You do realise you're interrupting some serious unpacking don't you?"

"Well I'm just checking up on you since you NEVER PHONED US!"

"I've been busy!" Chris protested. "You have no idea how long it takes to unpack boxes!"

"Yeah, well guess how long it takes to make a little phone call!"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Five minutes, I know, I know."

"We were worried."

"You guys are always worried about me." Chris replied, sitting down on the stool standing against the wall.

"With good reason! We gave you the rules; you have to call us everyday!"

"You said three times a week!"

"No, that was Charlie. I said everyday!"

"I'm not calling you everyday!"

"Why not?"

"Because it'd eat up all the money on my cell phone!"

"Use the landline then!"

"Then I'd have a massive phone bill!"

"Then come back home!"

Chris sighed and shook his head. "So THIS is where that was going."

"Yeah, see how I did that there? How I turned it into an incentive to come back?"

"Yeah, very nice." Chris said, deadpanned.

"Thank you."

"I'm not coming home though."

"Ah! So you still consider it home!"

"Mark..."

"What? We just miss you, is that a crime?"

Chris smiled. "No, but if you miss me, you guys can come visit once I'm all sorted out. I'm not moving back jut because you miss me being there!"

"Why not? I think that's a good enough reason!"

"Well it's not! How is everybody?"

"Devastated! Grandma keeps going upstairs to make your bed every morning, and she makes one extra portion at EVERY meal! Seriously, she's not got over the absence!"

"Oh shut up!" Chris laughed, knowing he was only joking by his tone of voice. "How is everyone, _truthfully_?"

"Good. Oh! Scott got a promotion!"

"That's great!"

"And Charlie got a cat."

"A cat? Charlie doesn't like cats."

"I think it's for his girlfriend..."

"He has a girlfriend?"

"Yeah, her name's Mary-Jane and she's HOT!"

Chris laughed. "And what does Charlie think about you drooling over his girlfriend?"

"He doesn't know, so when you speak to him don't breathe a word 'k?"

"I won't, don't worry."

"Because I wouldn't want to kick his ass if he started bitching at me."

Chris grinned. "I won't tell him you said that either."

"Speaking of relationship-y stuff, you better not have a boyfriend or I will come over there and..." he trailed off, leaving Chris with images of him ripping of limbs.

"I don't! I've only been here for a day and a half!"

"Well that's alright then!"

"And besides, I'm not interested in any of the guys I've met." He lied slightly.

"Guys you've met? Who have you met likes?"

"I've made some friends; that ok with you?" Chris asked sarcastically.

"And some of these friends are guys?"

"Yeah, so? I had male friends at home!"

"That was different! That was before...well, you know."

"Yeah, I do know. Which is why I don't plan on getting into ANY relationship at the moment."

"Good. I'm just looking out for you. I don't want you getting hurt again."

Chris smiled. "I appreciate the gesture, but I can look after myself now. Otherwise I wouldn't have moved to the other side of the country!"

Mark chuckled slightly. "Ok, point taken."

"Now, can I go and do more unpacking please?"

"Yeah, sure. You'll call me tomorrow right?"

"Mark-

"_Right_?"

Chris rolled his eyes. "Yes, fine. Can I go now?"

Mark sighed. "Oh I suppose so."

"Bye Mark." Chris said with a grin.

"Bye lil' bro."

The connection clicked off, and Chris put his cellphone on the counter, shaking his head.

Chris had three older brothers and out of those three, Mark was probably the most protective. He was always checking up on him in some way or another, and Chris marvelled at the fact that despite the fact he was on the other side of the country, Mark still managed to pester him.

Being the youngest, Chris had always had to endure that overprotective-ness that younger siblings tend to get. Except he got it three fold. It didn't help matters that the three of them were quite close in age, whereas he was quite a bit younger.

Charlie was the oldest, born in 1994 and aged 32, making him ten years older than Chris. Then there was Mark, 29, making him 7 years older. And finally Scott, 27, with 5 years head start in life.

Of course, they had all been planned. Their parents were originally going to stop at three boys, when their mom started feeling rather sick 5 years after their third baby...

Then on the 15th of October, Chris was born. As you can imagine, his mom had been rather shocked when her waters broke a month early, and she ended up giving birth to him in the back of the cab that was trying to get her to the hospital. The cab driver had panicked, slamming on the brakes and jumping out of the vehicle, screaming for help. It turned out that Chris's mom had been the one to calm down the situation, despite the fact she was the one in heavy labour and about to give birth by herself. Not a very pleasant story but one his dad had thought quite funny when it was all over.

Chris got up and walked back through to the living room. He missed his brothers and his grandparents like crazy, but he knew he couldn't go back. Mark would probably try again to persuade him though.

He kicked one of the boxes lightly with his foot. He was tired, and his back hurt.

So telling himself he'd do more unpacking tomorrow, he walked through to his bedroom an flung himself face down on the bed, falling asleep within minutes.

* * *

You know what would be totally awesome? A review! So please click the little review button and leave one! I'm not particularly pleased with the ending (in fact, I hated it) but the chapter needed to end and it's too early for cliffhangers! But there'll be a few of those later, trust me. ;-) 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N Hallo hallo! No, you're not seeing things; I have an update here, only a week after the last one!! -gasp!- I was hit with a sledgehammer of inspiration and wrote 11 and a quarter pages (whereas I normally only write around 7-8)!

Now lemme explain what's happening here, because you've probably noticed that the chapter below is in _italics_. That's because it's a PAST chapter.

That's right; LLC gave me the wonderful idea of, instead of flashbacks which I find infuriating to break in to, I write chapters set in Chris's past. So that's what I've done! This is the first of many past chapters, and the idea is, the past chapters will run alongside the chapters set in the present, finally coming together in one big twist!

It'll NORMALLY run in a sequence; _past chapter_, present chapter, _past chapter_, present chapter, _past chapter_, etc. But it may vary, depending on how I'm feeling. You'll know if it's a past chapter, because all the past chapters will be in **_ITALICS_**. Remember that, so you don't get confused!

Well I think I've got my point across! I hereby dedicate this chapter to Long-Live-Christopher (for pushing me to finish it today!) and ALSO to History Buff 1990 and Marcus1233, for their lovely (and long!) reviews! It makes it worth it when I get so much feedback, so thanks so much!

* * *

_**The Supermarket, 2011, age 7**_

_"Ok Chris, grab a grocery cart."_

_Chris ran ahead to the row of grocery carts that sat outside the supermarket. He popped the coin into the little slot and pulled the grocery cart away from the others. He could just see over the bar as he carefully wheeled it back to his mother._

_"Thanks sweetie." The red haired woman smiled, taking it from him and placing her handbag inside it._

_She made her way over to the fruit and vegetable section, stopping in front of the pineapples._

_"Why did we have to come?" Mark groaned, dragging his feet._

_"Because I said so." Rachel Perry replied simply. She decided which pineapple she wanted and placed it in the grocery cart._

_"That's so not an excuse." Mark grumbled, but Rachel ignored him._

_Their mom had decided that morning that all four boys were to come with her on the monthly food shopping trip. Chris was the only one that had been ok about it._

_"I could be seeing Anna right now mom." Charlie complained, referring to his girlfriend of the moment._

_"Well, you're texting her aren't you?" Rachel said, nodding at the cell phone in his hand as she placed a pack of apples in beside the pineapple._

_"That's not the same as seeing her!"_

_"Or having a game of tonsil tennis with her." Mark muttered._

_Charlie punched his arm, and when Mark tried to punch him back he pulled his head under his arm._

_"Ouch!" Mark yelped as Charlie gave him a noogie._

_"Boys stop fighting!" Rachel hissed as several shoppers looked in their direction. "Charlie, you're seventeen for god's sake!"_

_Charlie rolled his eyes. He pushed Mark away from him and he stumbled, red faced. Chris giggled at them as he climbed onto the end of the grocery cart._

_"I'm so gonna get you back for that!" Mark threatened._

_"Not in here you won't!" their mom snapped. "Now get beside me! You don't see Scott and Chris acting like a bunch of hooligans do you?"_

_"That's because Chris hasn't learnt to act like one yet, and Scott is too busy listening to his iPod." Mark grumbled as he moved to walk beside his mom._

_Scott seemed to realise he was being talked about and took the earphones out of his ears. "What?"_

_"Nothin'. Shut up and listen to your Mozart." Mark said dismissively._

_"It's not Mozart!" Scott argued. "It's Beethoven." He muttered._

_Charlie snorted, trying to conceal the grin on his face as he went back to texting his girlfriend. Scott glared at them both._

_"Just because I hate those stupid dance remixes, doesn't make the music I listen to stupid!"_

_"We never said it was." Mark said lightly, pretending to be interested in his fingernails._

_"Who's Beethoven?" Chris asked, as Rachel wheeled the grocery cart down to the freezer section. He was still clinging to the end._

_"How can you not know who Beethoven is?" Scott asked, looking at him as if he'd grown an extra head._

_"Scott, he's seven." said Charlie, looking up from his cell phone._

_Scott rolled his eyes and looked at his little brother. "He's a very famous composer."_

_"What's a composer?" Chris asked, frowning._

_"A person that writes music." Scott explained, before stuffing the earphones back in his ears and turning the music up loud._

_Rachel stopped the grocery cart an opened one of the freezer doors to get a bag of frozen pees._

_"Mom, can we get some ice cream?" Mark asked, looking further down the aisle._

_"Yeah!" Chris agreed excitedly, bouncing on the end of the grocery cart._

_"We've already got ice cream." their mom replied, looking at them._

_"We don't have any chocolate left." Chris pointed out._

_"Or vanilla." Mark added._

_"Or strawberry." Charlie said absently, still texting on his cell phone._

_"We've got mint chocolate chip and last time I checked, you all liked that!" said Rachel, pushing the grocery cart further and stopping to get some oven fries._

_"I don't like it anymore." Chris lied, scrunching his nose in disgust._

_"Yeah me neither." Mark agreed with a grin._

_Rachel sighed in defeat. "Fine."_

_"But you can only get one tub!" she called as Mark and Chris raced each other to the ice cream freezer._

_"I want chocolate!" Chris insisted, yanking opening the freezer door with both hands._

_"Well I want vanilla!" Mark argued, knocking Chris out the way._

_Chris pushed him back, fighting to get the tub of chocolate ice cream whilst Mark tried to get the vanilla._

_"Move it midgets." said Charlie, pulling them both from the freezer, and grabbing a tub of strawberry._

_Chris and Mark tried to fight it off of him as he strode back to the cart, but being taller and stronger, he easily over powered them. He tossed it in the cart and went back to texting Anna._

_"Mom that's not fair!" Mark complained._

_"Oh grow up." said Charlie._

_Mark glared at him. "Shut up Charlie!"_

_Charlie opened his mouth to reply but their mom cut him off._

_"Alright that's enough!" she snapped. "Can't you boys go two minutes without fighting?!"_

_They stayed silent, glaring at each other, and Rachel sighed irritably. She pushed the shopping cart out of the freezer section, Chris clinging on to the end again, and went to the bakery section to buy some bread._

_

* * *

Two hours had passed since the nightmare shopping trip, and now the whole family were together strolling in the park. Chris was being given a piggy back by his dad, John, and Mark and Scott were kicking a football back and forth between them as they walked. Charlie was talking to Anna on his cell phone, and Rachel was walking beside John, admiring the blue sky._

_"Mom?"_

_Rachel looked at Mark._

_"Family Saturday is great and all, but couldn't we have gone to the cinema or ten pin bowling or something?" he asked, kicking the football too hard so that Scott had to run after it._

_Rachel rolled her eyes. "It's about spending time as a family, not spending a load of money Mark."_

_"Yeah but we'd be spending time as a family ten pin bowling..."Mark wheedled._

_"A nice walk in the park is a great way to spend time together." said Rachel firmly, and she didn't say anything else on the matter._

_"Family Saturday" had been a sort of tradition since Chris was one year old. It allowed them all to spend time as a family without anything else getting in the way. None of the boys were allowed to make any plans after 1pm, which is when John got home from his work as a fireman. His shifts were always odd that way. It had been okay when they were younger, but now it was getting a bit of a drag. Except for Chris, but he was still young enough for it to be okay with him._

_"Daddy?" said Chris, as John hoisted him further up his back when he started slipping._

_Mmm?"_

_"How are babies made?"_

_Mark and Scott snorted, trying not to dissolve into laughter. Even Charlie looked over, amused, as he talked to Anna. Rachel looked at her husband, interesting in how he was going to answer the question._

_John cleared his throat. "Uh, why d'you ask Chris?"_

_Chris shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. Tommy Weilder from school said his mom was going to have a new baby, and I was just wondering how?"_

_"Yeah dad, how ARE babies made?" asked Scott, and he and Mark laughed._

_John looked helplessly at Rachel for help but she just smiled and shook her head._

_He took in a deep breath. "Well Chris...uh...babies are brought by storks." he explained slowly._

_Scott and Mark's laughter got louder._

_Chris frowned. "What's a stork?"_

_"It's a bird-_

_"I was brought by a bird?"_

_"No, you were found in a cabbage patch, eh dad?" said Mark through a laugh, and John glared at him._

_"Huh?" said Chris, completely confused._

_"Stop it you two!" Rachel scolded Mark and Scott. She looked at Chris and rubbed his arm. "You're dad will tell you properly when you're older sweetheart."_

_"We'll tell you the real story later Chris." said Mark in a stage whisper to his little brother, and Scott laughed._

_"No you will not!" Rachel snapped. The boys laughed again._

_Charlie ended his call, grinning. "So what's this talk on babies I'm hearing?"_

_"Nothing." John muttered, desperate for the subject to change so he could avoid anymore embarrassing explanations._

_Charlie just grinned and went off to join the game of soccer his brothers were currently having. Chris loosened his hold around his dad's neck, wriggling off his back and running over to play too. John put his arm around Rachel's waist as they walked._

_"Well that was nicely avoided." she said with a smile._

_John nodded in agreement, letting out a deep breath of relief. He'd always dreaded the baby talk and had hoped that Chris would at least wait until he was nine until he asked about it. However, that obviously hadn't been the case. He'd already gone through trying to explain it three times with his other sons and he'd regularly asked his wife why they couldn't just let the school do it._

_"He'll probably ask you again soon though." Rachel pointed out._

_"Yeah, I know." John replied, groaning._

_He gave his wife a weak smile, and looked over at his sons as they kicked the ball to each other. He couldn't believe 17 years had gone by so quickly... They'd gone in a flash and he was just thankful he had memories and photographs to hold on to. He was so proud of how his sons had turned out._

_

* * *

"Mommy?"_

_"Yes Chris?" Rachel asked as she tucked his covers under his chin. He was freshly washed, his brown hair still slightly damp, and he was huddled in his pyjamas, clinging on to Walter bear as always._

_"Was I really found in a cabbage patch?" he asked._

_Rachel smiled and shook her head, so that her red hair fell into her eyes. "No honey."_

_"Okay." said Chris, and he yawned. He was too sleepy to question it further._

_Rachel switched on his nightlight and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight sweetheart."_

_"Night mommy." Chris mumbled, his eyes already closed, and within moments he was sleeping._

_Rachel carefully tip toed across the room, cursing under her breath when she tripped over one of Scott's sneakers. Scott was staying at a friend's house for the night, as well as Mark (though he with a different friend). Charlie was staying overnight with Anna, which was a normal occurrence._

_She reached the door and took one more look at her sleeping angel before stepping out, closing the panel of wood gently closed behind her. She walked down the hall to her right, and entered into her own bedroom._

_"Chris asleep?" John asked, as he took of his socks and climbed into bed._

_"Out like a light." Rachel replied._

_She changed her clothes quickly and slipped under the covers. She shivered. It was like sliding into snow, but slowly it began to heat up._

_"Night honey." she said leaning over, and she gave her husband a quick kiss before turning out the light._

_

* * *

Chris's eyes snapped open and he coughed. He coughed again and sat up, not understanding what was going on. He clutched Walter tight against his chest. The fire alarm was screeching out in the hallway, and it took him a few moments to realise his room was filled with smoke. Thick, black smoke that filled his lungs and made him cough and splutter for a clean breath._

_"Mommy!" Chris called, terrified._

_It was hot, and dark. He couldn't see properly, even though his night light was on. The smoke made his eyes sting and they started watering as he scrambled out of his bed. He could hear crackling and roaring outside his door in the hallway and he knew that he shouldn't open it. The smoke was billowing through the cracks of the door and Chris could see the bright orange light illuminating them._

_Daddy always made them do fire drills every month. But Chris didn't know what to do. Fear gripped him and his brain went numb, and suddenly he forgot all of daddy's instructions._

_"Daddy!" he cried, hoping that he would be heard. There was a fire extinguisher in the kitchen...maybe Daddy could get it and put out the fire..._

_Chris coughed again, and again. He couldn't breath, he couldn't see... He clutched Walter even tighter and felt his way around the room, tripping over sneakers and toys, until he reached the big wardrobe he and Scott had to share. He gripped the handle and pulled on it, his palms sweating from fear and the heat. The wooden door swung open, and Chris clambered inside amongst the shoes. The jeans and slacks brushed his head and the shoes were uncomfortable to sit on, but he stayed there. He closed the door shut, breathing into Walter's soft fur, his chest heaving from the panic growing inside him._

_Where were mommy and daddy? He was scared ..._

_He started crying into Walter, his sobs echoing around the wardrobe. The alarm was still shrieking, the smoke was still pouring into the room, seeking him out so it could suffocate him..._

_Then the door opened._

_Chris looked up, the tears streaming down his face. He expected to see his mommy, or his daddy coming to rescue him, but it was someone else. A tall man wearing a uniform with a helmet and a gas mask. Chris recognised the uniform... It was the same one his daddy wore._

_"You're okay son." the man said through the mask. He reached down and wrapped his strong arms around him, lifting him out the wardrobe with a kind of urgency. Chris didn't argue; he was just so glad someone had come to save him. So he buried his face into the fireman's shoulder, clinging on to Walter's paw._

_The fireman moved quickly, trying to get Chris out of the burning building as soon as possible. Chris felt the blazing heat as they moved through the house to an exit, and he clung to the fireman fearfully as he desperately kept his eyes closed. Then suddenly fresh hair hit him. Cool, clean fresh air. Chris coughed, desperate to get this non polluted air into his lungs as he was carried quickly over the grass in front of the house._

_He lifted his head and gasped._

_Almost have of the house was ablaze, and the fire was rapidly spreading. Bright orange flames licked the brick work, and the cloud of thick black smoke rose heavily into the night sky. His green eyes widened fearfully at the sight._

_The neighbours were scattered across the sidewalk, watching, and there was a fire engine and an ambulance on the road. The fireman hurried over to ambulance crew, and Chris was passed over. He was being pawed at, people checking his eyes and stuffing a breathing mask over his mouth and nose, but Chris wasn't paying attention to this._

_He was watching the door of the house, waiting and waiting for his parents to run out, coughing and spluttering like he had been. The house was being sprayed fiercely with water but the fire as so strong, that it grew bigger faster than it was being put out._

_He didn't understand... Why wasn't the man running back in to save mommy and daddy? Their bedroom was just down the hall from his. Why wasn't someone going in to save them?_

_The neighbours were talking fearfully amongst themselves. They were scared for the poor family, the children that lived in that house. After all, they didn't know that the other three boys weren't even there._

_Chris could feel them watching him, craning theirs necks to see if he was seriously injured. He barely acknowledged them, his focus still on the door and even the windows. Maybe they'd break through a window if they couldn't get out the main entrance..._

_People were shouting; the firemen instructions to one another, the neighbours passing on what was going on..._

_"Where's my mommy and daddy?" he asked the paramedic that was working on him, his voice muffled by the mask._

_"I don't know sweetheart." she said, trying to sound calm for the sake of the child._

_Chris looked at the house again. If only he could tell the firemen where the right bedroom was, they'd be able to help-_

_BANG!_

_The small explosion from inside the house shook the ground, and the glass from the windows blasted out. The fire seemed to erupt, roaring and growing fiercer, engulfing most of the house. People were panicking now, screaming. Chris just watched, his breath seeming to still, his eyes as wide as coins and his mouth slightly open._

_"Mommy." he whimpered._

_No, no, no! Mommy and daddy were in the house!_

_"MOMMY!" he screamed desperately. "DADDY!"_

_The paramedics were trying to calm him, quieten him down, but they didn't understand! Mommy and daddy were in that burning building!_

_"MOMMY! DADDY!"_

_Any minute now they'd come stumbling out the house. They'd be black from soot and gasping for air but they'd be ok. They'd run over to him and hug him, thanking god he was alright..._

_He screamed and screamed. Surely...SURELY, they'd hear him and come running. They'd hear how desperate and frightened he was and they'd come, telling him they were so sorry for scaring him like that and they loved him..._

_The firemen were trying so hard to stem the blaze. A second fire truck had arrived to aid them, and now that was blasting water at it too. The fire seemed to be getting smaller, but they couldn't relax yet._

_"MOMMY! DADDY!"_

_Why were they keeping him waiting like this?! Didn't they realise how terrified he was? Why were they doing this?!_

_He kept screaming and screaming until he wasn't even screaming coherent words anymore. He was just screaming..._

_Because part of him realised... Mommy and daddy would never wait like this when he was screaming so desperately for them, almost to the point where he was making himself sick... They'd never keep him waiting like this when it was obvious how completely terrified he was..._

_But he kept screaming because he didn't want to believe it. He kept screaming because a little voice was saying that they'd come out any second. He kept screaming because he was so scared._

_He kept screaming because he knew, deep down he knew, that they weren't coming._

_

* * *

The four of them sat in a row, waiting. A clock hung on to wall opposite ticking away but Chris barely heard. He scuffed the floor with his sneakers and put his hands in the pockets of the dark green hoody that had been bought for him._

_None of them said anything. They barely spoke now anyway. Each was too deep in their own thoughts and grief to even think about saying a word._

_Chris had heard the police talking earlier. A faulty plug socket and a power surge had caused it to spark. It had started in their parents' room, the curtains catching fire, then the carpet... They hadn't stood a chance, still sleeping as the smoke filled their lungs, and the fire spread around them..._

_Chris glanced at Charlie, who was sitting on his left. His elbows were resting on his knees and his head was in his hands. Chris couldn't tell if he was crying or not but...he looked defeated._

_Mark and Scott were staring into space, looking bereaved and on the verge of tears._

_Chris just felt numb. He'd done all his crying and screaming on the night he'd found out they were dead. His brothers' reactions of the news had been mixed._

_Mark had gotten angry. He'd screamed and shouted, and trashed things. The various objects that had been in the room at the time had littered the floor, broken. Charlie had grabbed him and held him tightly against his chest and Mark tried to punch him and push him away a couple of times at first, but just ended up dissolving into tears._

_Scott had shaken his head, in utter shock and disbelief. He'd kept muttering to himself; "No, no, no, no..." and just watched Mark lose it blankly, tears gathering in his eyes._

_And Charlie... he'd tried his best to stay strong for them. But Chris had heard him crying when he thought he was alone._

_Chris looked through the glass panel in the door to his left. A social worker was speaking to their grandparents on their dad's side. He couldn't hear what was being said but they looked very anxious. They nodded, shook their heads, sometimes spoke to the woman who was questioning them._

_They weren't dressed as they normally were. Grandma Mary and grandpa George were keen gardeners and were normally seen in such attire whenever the boys went to visit, with smudges of dirt on their cheeks and the smell of freshly cut grass following them wherever they went._

_But now they were dressed in clean, dirt free clothes and their hair and skin were pristine. Grandma looked close to tears and older than Chris had ever saw her..._

_Chris buried his nose into Walter's soft fur and held him tightly. He smelt badly of smoke but if Chris concentrated really hard, he could almost smell mommy's perfume..._

_Charlie sat up and let out a deep breath. His eyes were red and stared blankly ahead of him. Chris bit softly on his bottom lip and lent his head against Charlie's shoulder._

_The door opened and their grandparents came out, followed by the social worker. They stopped in front of them and the four boys looked up._

_"You're coming to stay with us kids." said George, trying to keep his voice steady as he smiled kindly at them._

_Charlie was the only one that responded, and even then it was just a simple nod. He stood up and took hold of Chris's hand. Chris held on to Walter with his other arm, staring up at his grandparents._

_Chris knew they were the only people out of their whole family that had agreed to let them live with them. Charlie had told him. The social workers had made many phone calls to members of the family and George and Mary were the only ones that had said yes._

_They went outside with their grandparents, to the car waiting outside. It was a 7 seater, so they easily fitted inside. Chris made sure he was sitting beside Charlie. He felt safer beside Charlie._

_"We've got your bedrooms sorted out." Mary called from the front. "There's only two for all of you so you'll have to share. Is that ok?"_

_Again it was Charlie who responded. A small nod. Mary and George glanced at each other but didn't say anything. George switched on the radio, probably so they weren't sitting in silence._

_The brothers barely heard it. They were too deep in their own sorrowful thoughts to register anything around them. Neither of them spoke as their grandpa backed the car out of the parking space_

_Chris cuddled into Walter and leant his head against the cool glass of the window. He stared at the buildings flashing past, his eyelids drooping. He'd barely slept since the night of the fire and before he knew it, darkness swallowed him as he fell into a restless sleep..._

_

* * *

"Chris. Chris, sweetheart, wake up."_

_"Mommy?..." Chris mumbled, and he slowly opened his eyelids._

_But it wasn't mommy waking him. It was grandma, leaning in through the car door. His brothers and grandpa weren't in the car. Grandma looked sympathetically at him and smoothed back his hair._

_"No honey, it's grandma. We're home now." she said gently._

_Home. This wasn't home. Home was back in Manhattan, not here in Brooklyn._

_She unclipped his seat belt and Chris shimmied out of the car, clutching tightly on to Walter. Once out the car he instantly ran over to his brother's, who were standing waiting for him, and clung on to Charlie's arm._

_Their grandpa opened the front door of the small house, and they slowly entered behind their grandparents. They hadn't been there since Christmas, when it had been decorated with tinsel and brightly coloured fairy lights._

_Chris liked the house; it smelt of baking and grass, and the floors were covered with lovely thick carpets. The light walls let the sunlight bounce around the rooms and making them seem bigger. He remebered_

_But he liked it better when they'd just been visiting. Now they had to live here._

_The four brothers stood together, looking at their grandparents as if waiting for instructions._

_"Uh, you're rooms are the first two on the right. Why don't you take your things upstairs?" their grandpa suggested._

_The boys glanced at each other. They didn't HAVE anything. Everything had been burned in the fire. All they had were the clothes they were wearing, and the few things the three older ones had had with them when they'd been staying over at the other houses. Chris had been given a new outfit when he was getting ready to leave the hospital, after being in there for smoke inhalation._

_But apart from that, all he had was Walter._

_But they climbed the stairs to the rooms anyway. They stuck to they're normal sleeping arrangements and Chris and Scott entered the first room together. They stopped, staring around at it, until Scott slowly moved over to the bed on the far wall and sat down on it. The mattress squeaked pitifully but he didn't seem to notice._

_Chris watched him for a moment before walking over to the other bed and sitting gingerly on the edge of it. The squeaking on his seemed worse._

_He looked down at Walter in his hands. The little brown glass eyes stared back at him, the little stitched smile looking like it was reassuring him. Chris carefully placed him against the pillow and sat back to see the effect. It certainly made the bed seem more like his. But it couldn't beat the one back home..._

_Chris looked up as the door creaked open and Charlie walked in, slowly followed by Mark who had his arms crossed across his chest. Charlie looked around the room and back down at them again._

_"So what d'you guys think?" he asked quietly._

_It was quite weird hearing him speak. It seemed like none of them had spoke for ages._

_"I don't want to live here." Chris replied, picking a loose thread on his jeans._

_"Me neither." Mark muttered. He walked out of the door frame and plopped himself down on the bed on Chris's right._

_"We just have to make the best of it." said Charlie, walking over and sitting down on Chris's left._

_"How does that work?" Scott asked softly. He got up and sat down on Chris's bed, on Charlie's left._

_"Well we live here now-_

_"Don't remind us." Mark grumbled. Charlie ignored him._

_- so there's no point in complaining about it."_

_They all fell silent for several minutes._

_"This bed is REALLY uncomfy." Mark stated, breaking the silence._

_He lay back and grimaced. His three brothers copied him, so they were all lying in a row, their legs hanging off the edge._

_"Geez, and I thought mine was bad." Charlie said, bouncing slightly so the springs squeaked._

_"I have to sleep in this one." Chris complained, and he pouted slightly. Trust him to end up with the most uncomfortable one._

_"Well you could sleep in beside grandma and grandpa." Scott suggested._

_The four boys shuddered at the thought._

_"Grandpa's cheesy feet are strong enough to knock you out." said Mark, scrunching his nose._

_Charlie chuckled, and Chris found himself laughing too. Then Scott and Mark joined in. The brothers laughed so hard their stomachs hurt, even though it wasn't that funny. It just felt so good to laugh, when a few hours ago it had felt they'd never be happy again._

_So they laughed, and laughed._

* * *

Now since that chapter was a lot longer than what I usually write, do you think you lovely people could find it in your hearts to write review? Preferably semi-long/long but any length is fine! I love hearing your thoughts! 


	4. Chapter 4

A/N Wow, I'm on an update high! First MTWMTE and then this, barely two days later! That's pretty impressive for me ain't it? ;)

**Thank you **to all you lovely, awesome reviewers! Every review makes my day that little bit better! And course, my usual shout out to LLC for just being my awesome (American) big sis :P

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chris's face broke into a grin as he placed the last mug in the cupboard. He'd finally managed to empty every box for the kitchen _and _put all the stuff in the correct places. Not like he had very much, but it was still satisfying to be finished _something_.

He picked up the empty cardboard boxes and dumped them in the livingroom in a careless pile. He had a sofa, and a bookcase with no books in it and that was it. There was one or two boxes for this room, but the others were for his bedroom. He'd already sorted out the bathroom stuff.

Chris looked at his watch and grabbed his sneakers off the floor. He balanced on one foot, slipping one on, then on the other foot to put the other one on.

Today he was going to the job centre. He hoped that he'd be good enough for something they found for him because, after all, if he went any longer without any money he'd be flat broke in no time. He was nervous, but it was something that had to be done.

He grabbed his keys and left the apartment, remembering to lock the door behind him. He'd only taken two steps when his cell phone buzzed in his pocket, and he took it out to see he had a text message from Mark;

_**Remember to lock the door. **_

Chris rolled his eyes and text back;

_**One step ahead of you.**_

He went to put the cell phone back in his pocket when it buzzed again. It was from Charlie;

_**Had something to eat yet? **_

Chris sighed and leaned against the wall beside the door, texting back.

_**No I haven't had time.**_

20 seconds later;

_**Bullshit. What you been doing?**_

Before Chris could answer, the phone buzzed again. This time the message was from Scott.

_**When you coming home:) **_

Chris glared angrily at the phone, hoping his brothers would be able to feel it from the other side of the country. He could just imagine them sitting together in grandma's kitchen, grinning as they took turns to annoy him.

It buzzed, a message from Mark again;

_**Remember to call EVERYDAY!**_

"Oh I'll call you!" Chris muttered angrily, and he scrolled through his contacts list till he found Mark's number. He pressed the call button and put the cell phone to his ear.

"Helloooo?"

"Leave me alone!" Chris yelled down the phone. "All of you!"

He heard Charlie and Scott laughing in the background, and Mark tried not to join them as he spoke.

"What do you mean?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"Oh you know what I mean!" Chris snapped. "How am I meant to get on with things if you guys won't stop texting me?!"

"We're just checking up on you!" Mark defended.

"I said I'd call you everyday! Which I have been!"

"Uh, you didn't call yesterday actually."

"I text you though!"

"That's not the same as a phone call now, is it?"

"Mark, I'm going to strangle you!-

"Bye!"

"Mark!-

"Hey it's Charlie."

Chris let out a deep breath, glaring at the opposite wall.

"Tell him I'm never calling him again!"

He could just hear Charlie passing on the news, then Marks protests. He didn't manage to say another word to Charlie, because at that moment he heard the phone being wrestled off of him.

"You better call me or I'll fly over there and drag you back here!" Mark threatened.

"Well stop bugging me!"

He heard the phone being fought over again. This time Scott's voice sounded in his ear.

"Hi, it's me-

It was wrestled off of him.

"I mean it! Everyday or else!"

"Mark-

Before he could say more, Chris heard Mark protesting as the phone was wrestled off of him.

"Stop fighting over the fucking phone!" Chris shouted into his cell phone, irritated.

"Hey it's me again." said Charlie sounding slightly breathless. "Wait a sec and I'll put you on speaker."

Chris waited impatiently, until all of a sudden he could hear all three of his brothers in his ear.

"That's you on speaker." said Charlie.

"Great, now I can say bye to all of you at the same time!" Chris snapped, and he hung up.

His cell phone started buzzing almost instantly. Chris closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall.

"Kill me..." he groaned. He sighed and pressed the answer call button.

"What do you want?!" he snapped.

"Now, now, no need to be aggressive!" said Mark.

"Mark don't even-

"I'll put you on speaker!" Mark cut in.

"Mark-

"Can you hear us?" He heard Scott say.

"Yeah, but-

"Great! This is a lot easier!" said Mark.

"I don't-

"Just don't hang up on us again." Charlie cut in.

"GUYS!" Chris shouted. He couldn't get a bloody word in edgeways!

"What?" they said in unison.

"Can I speak please?!"

"Oh. Yeah, go ahead." said Charlie.

"Thank you. Ok, I get you guys have this infuriating tendency to worry about me but it's REALLY ANNOYING!"

"Your our little brother, it's our job!" said Mark.

"Scott's your little brother and you don't treat HIM like this!"

"But you're the _littlest _brother!" Charlie explained. "And anyway, you _know_ why we're so protective of you."

Chris sighed. "Yeah but... that's all in the past now. I'm over it."

"And that's why you moved to the other side of the country." said Scott flatly. "You're running away from it Chris-

"Look, I don't want a lecture." Chris cut in.

"I wasn't planning on giving you one." Scott replied. "That's Mark's thing."

"Hey! I don't lecture!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that."

Chris groaned. "Guys..."

"Ok, name a time I've lectured someone."

"Do you want my brain to explode with the amount of choice?"

"I don't lecture! Charlie, do I lecture people?"

"Well..."

"I do not!"

"Ok, hanging up now!" Chris called.

"What's the hurry to get away?" Charlie asked.

"I'm job hunting." Chris said. "And so far I haven't gotten anywhere because SOME people won't stop bugging me!"

"Those bastards!" Mark said in mock anger, and Chris couldn't help but smile.

"Are you guys gonna leave me alone now?" he asked.

"For today anyway." said Scott.

Chris rolled his eyes. "Fine. Bye then."

"Bye!" the three called in unison, and Chris pressed the end call button.

He shook his head and placed the cell phone back in the pocket of his jeans. His brothers were such a nightmare sometimes! But he'd be lying if he didn't somewhat appreciate their protectiveness. He didn't know what he would have done without them, when he'd needed them most in the past.

Chris decided to get on his way. He wanted to find a job TODAY and the phone calls and texts from his brothers hadn't helped with his time keeping. He picked up his pace as he got to the staircase.

But as he looked at his watch, he tripped. And then he was falling, head first down the steps.

He gasped, barely having time to register that he was probably about to fall to his death, when he was caught by none other than Wyatt, who'd just happened to be heading up. There was a pause as Chris clung on to him, his heart beating rapidly. Wyatt had his arms wrapped around him again...

"We have GOT to stop meeting like this." Wyatt laughed in his ear.

Chris blushed and lifted his head. They're faces were barely an inch apart. Just one little movement and their lips would be touching...

Chris blinked and hurriedly found his footing.

"I-I'm really sorry." he stammered. "I'm such a klutz."

Wyatt smiled kindly. "It's alright. You just have a habit of falling down stairs."

Chris smiled back. "And you have a habit of catching me."

Wyatt shrugged, looking modest. "Meh, just doing my good deed for the day. _But _that's twice you owe me."

"Well, what could I do to make it up to you?"

"Hmmm..." Wyatt mused, looking thoughtful. "Well, there is something..."

Chris raised his eyebrows, and Wyatt continued.

"We're going ten pin bowling next week, but Rebecca won't play because apparently it damages her nails. We play against each other in three aside teams but because she won't play...

"You need another player." Chris finished for him, and Wyatt nodded.

"Exactly." He grinned. "I mean, Tony and I are awesome bowlers, but we wouldn't want the game to be unbalanced.

Chris smiled back. "Ah, I see."

"So will you come? It'll be fun." Wyatt wheedled.

"Well...Ok. But I'm not that good." Chris warned.

"That's alright." Wyatt said with a shrug. "It's just a bit of fun anyway."

"So we'll be even then?"

Wyatt shook his head with a grin. "Well no, since that's just one favour. I'll think of something else."

"Well whilst you're thinking, I need to go." Chris said with a smile, and moved down a couple of steps.

"Where are you off to?" Wyatt asked

Chris sighed. "Job hunting."

"Yeah? What do you want to do?"

"I dunno. Just something that pays the bills." Chris said with an indifferent shrug.

Wyatt looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm...I could maybe help you with that..."

"What?"

"Well, my mom owns this restaurant called Charmed downtown, and she needs more waiters. I could put in a good word for you, if you want." Wyatt suggested.

"You'd do that?" Chris asked, surprised by his generosity.

"Sure, you're a friend. Plus, you have more chance of getting a job there if I tell her you're up to pat."

"Do you work there?"

"Yeah, and Tony and Andy do as well. The pay's pretty good and you'd probably work a 12 hour shift if you go for full time." said Wyatt.

Chris thought about it for a moment, and then nodded.

"That'd be really nice of you." he said, and then he smiled. "But does this mean I owe you again?"

Wyatt smiled back. "We'll see. Depends if you help us win the game next Tuesday night."

"I'll do my best!" Chris said, with mock determination.

"You better!" Wyatt replied, mocking seriousness. Then he grinned. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you." Chris smiled back, and they passed each other on the stairs.

Chris exited the apartment block, and looked down the sidewalk of the busy street. Well, since he wasn't job hunting anymore, he might as well have a look around the city.

* * *

"Honey, I'm home!" Wyatt called the clichéd words, putting on a mocking voice. 

"I'm in the kitchen!" came the reply.

Wyatt strolled into the kitchen to see Carla standing at the stove, stirring a pot of soup. He smiled and walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and planting a small kiss on her cheek.

"I've got something for you." he said, pulling away slightly.

"What?" Carla asked curiously. She turned around so she could look at him.

Wyatt smiled and pulled a small, blue velvet out of his back pocket and handed it to her. She held it in her hands for a moment, glanced at him, and then opened it. Inside was a small silver locket. She slowly took it out and held it in her hand so she could look at it better.

"It's beautiful." she said quietly, smiling slightly. She looked up at him. "What's the occasion?"

"Just my way of saying sorry." said Wyatt, shrugging slightly. "Do you forgive me?"

Carla thought about for a moment, studying his face. Then she nodded. "I suppose so."

Wyatt smiled, pulling her into a hug. "Thank you."

Carla rolled her eyes, and hit him playfully on the arm. "Alright, alright."

Wyatt let her go and she turned around and continued to stir the soup that was bubbling away. She tapped the wooden spoon of the side of the pot to get rid of the excess soup, and placed it on the counter.

"By the way, I thought we could go visit my parents on Wednesday." she said absently as she added a pinch of salt into the pot.

Wyatt, who had been checking something on his cell phone, went rigid and he instantly looked up.

"What? Why?"

"Because we've not seen them in months."

"Good!"

"Wyatt." Carla said in reprimanding tone, as she turned around. "That's my parents you're talking about."

"Yeah, the same parents that hate me!" said Wyatt, putting his cell phone away.

Carla's shoulders sagged. "Oh Wyatt, they don't hate you."

"Yes they do!" Wyatt argued. "You KNOW they do."

"No, they just..." Carla trailed off, trying to find the right words. "They've just not warmed to you yet."

Wyatt raised his eyebrows. "Not warmed to me yet? Carla, we've been together for three years."

"Yeah, well..."

"See. I'd rather avoid them as much as possible thanks."

"But they're my parents! We barely see them that much anyway and we don't need to stay long. Just half an hour?"

"No!" Wyatt instantly replied.

Carla's parents had disliked him the day he'd been introduced as her boyfriend. He wasn't stupid and he'd seen it behind the fake smiles they gave him as he shook their hands in turn. Now though, they didn't even smile. Curt nods were the best he got. He dreaded what they'd be like at the wedding.

"Pleeeease? For me?" Carla wheedled, ad she fluttered her eyelashes, trying to look cute.

Wyatt looked at her for a moment, his shoulders sagging. He hated it when she did that.

"Fine." he sighed. "But only half an hour!"

"Deal." Carla smiled, standing on her tip toes and kissing him. "We can go out for lunch afterwards."

"Yeah, ok." said Wyatt with a smile.

He turned to leave the kitchen. "I'll be back soon. I'm just going to Charmed to ask my mom a favour."

"What kind of favour?" Carla asked, starting to stir the soup again.

"I'm gonna ask her if she'll give Chris a job. She's in need of waiters." Wyatt replied.

"Chris?" Carla repeated, turning her head to look at him. "That guy you got drunk with?"

"Yeah, him."

"You've only known him 5 minutes and you're trying to get him a job at your mom's restaurant?" Carla asked incredulously.

"Carla, he's a friend and it'll help him out. How else is he going to pay the bills?"

"By applying for a job like everyone else maybe?"

Wyatt raised his eyebrows. "Does it really matter? I got Andy and Tony their jobs there."

"Yeah, but they've been your friends for years. You barely know Chris." Carla pointed out.

"He's a good person, I can see that much." said Wyatt.

Carla bit back a laugh. "How can you possibly know that? He could be a total psycho!"

"He's not, he's nice. And I've always been a good judge of character, you know that."

He walked over to his fiancée and gave her a kiss. "I'll see you later."

"Wyatt!" Carla called after him as he left the kitchen.

"Laters!" he called back, and Carla rolled her eyes in frustration when she heard the front door close.

* * *

Chris stirred his coffee absently with the silver spoon that had been provided. He'd only drunk half of it, and the remaining half was starting to go cold. The buzz of the coffee house he was in surrounded him, but he felt oddly disconnected from it all. He lifted his head and placed his chin in his hand, as he gazed out the window at the people passing by. 

He'd been looking around the city for an hour or so now, but at found that exploring his new home wasn't as exciting as he thought it would be. Looking around this new city just made him miss New York even more, despite all the bad stuff that had went on there. It was familiar, and this wasn't, and it just made him feel incredibly home sick. Especially since he was used to seeing his brothers all the time, and now they were on the other side of the country and he didn't see them at all.

"You alright hon?"

Chris looked up at the jolly, middle-aged woman that served the coffee. Her uniform was a pink tunic and small white apron, making her look larger than she probably was and her hair was a frazzled mixture of brown and grey, hastily tied back in a messy bun. She was holding a pot of coffee in her right hand. Chris nodded and gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine thanks." he said quietly.

She smiled warmly back at him, and refilled his cup. "There you go; free of charge."

"Um, thanks." Chris said, quite puzzled by her generosity.

"Free coffee helps a troubled soul. Or so I've heard." she smiled, and patted his back before walking away to serve someone else.

Chris raised his eyebrows and shook his head as he went back to looking out the window. Was he that obvious?

* * *

Wyatt pulled open the doors to his mom's restaurant, Charmed, and stepped inside. The atmosphere was warm and cheerful, and all the tables were full as always. He scanned the area, looking to see if he could spot his mom anywhere. 

"Wyatt!"

Wyatt turned to his left and smiled as he saw his mom walking towards him, her ponytail of thick brown hair swinging behind her.

"Hey mom." he said warmly as she enveloped him in a tight embrace.

"What you doing here?" Piper asked him with a smile as they broke away. "It's your day off."

"Well, I just wanted to come spend some quality with my mother." said Wyatt lightly, putting his arm around her shoulders. He towered over her by at least a head and a half.

"At the restaurant when I'm busy?" Piper asked sceptically, her eyebrows raised as she looked up at him.

"Uh, well..." Wyatt trailed off, and sighed. "Oh alright. That's not why I'm here. I wanted to ask you a favour."

"A favour."

"Yeah. See, the deal is, this friend of mine needs a job and I know you're short of waiters so..."

"So you want me to hire him?" Piper asked, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Yes. Go on mom, Andy and Tony worked out alright, and I know Chris will too if you give him a chance. He's a really nice person, and I'm sure he'll work hard and if he doesn't then you never have to do me a favour again-

"Wyatt." Piper cut in, putting up a hand. "Slow down and breathe."

Wyatt did as he was told and watched his mother for her reaction. Twenty five or not, he always did what his mom told him. Well, almost always.

"Well first of all, I'm a bit sceptical of hiring someone I know nothing about-

"But-

"Let me finish." Piper said firmly. "I'm a bit sceptical of hiring someone I know nothing about BUT you're right, Andy and Tony worked out all right when I wasn't sure about them..."

"So you'll give Chris a job?" Wyatt asked.

Piper studied his face and Wyatt knew she was thinking hard about a decision. He waited and waited.

"Well..."

* * *

Chris climbed the stairs wearily, carrying a small plastic bag in one hand. Having no spare money for a cab, he'd walked everywhere and was hence exhausted. The small amount of money he did have, had went towards the coffee and some essential groceries, which were in the bag. 

He yawned as he reached the top of the staircase, and walked across the small hallway to his apartment door. He put the bag down and unlocked the door with his key, before kicking it lightly open.

"Chris!"

Chris turned around before he stepped inside, and saw Wyatt climbing the stairs.

"Yeah?" he asked, as Wyatt walked over to him.

"Can you start tomorrow?" Wyatt asked with a grin.

Chris's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

Wyatt nodded and he chuckled lightly as Chris smiled brightly and hugged him ecstatically.

"Thank you!" Chris laughed over his shoulder.

"You're welcome." Wyatt grinned, patting his back.

Chris pulled away from him, that bright smile still evident on his face.

"It really means a lot." he said, looking up at him.

"It was no problem." said Wyatt. "I can take you down there tomorrow morning if you like? I have the same shift as you so it makes sense if we just take the same car."

"Sure." Chris replied. "What time?"

"8:30. We start at 9:00 so we can help set up for breakfast."

Chris nodded, and smiled again. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then."

Wyatt smiled back. "Yeah, see you tomorrow."

They both entered their separate apartments and closed the doors. Once inside his, Chris smiled again and leant against the door. Finally, he'd gotten a job! He was going to earn money and be able to buy things! He just felt so happy.

But that might have SOMETHING to do with the fact that he also just hugged Wyatt...

* * *

Awww, you have to admit; Chris is sweet when he has a crush :P **Please review! **If you do, I may be inclined to update quickly again!


	5. Chapter 5

Hi people! I'm sorry I've took quite a long time to update, but I was working on my new story, then I didn't have it in me to write any more of this chapter, and THEN I decided I better because of you **lovely **reviewers! So here it is and I hope you enjoy it! As you've probably realised, this is another past chapter, and I'm sorry to say no more little Chris. He's grown up a bit now, as that what happens... -sniff-... why must little cuties grow up so fast? -thinks of nephews-

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, and a big thanks to LLC for writing part of this chapter!

* * *

The house, 2020, age 15 

_Chris stomped down the wooden stairs grumpily, trying to get his unruly hair into some order as he walked. He gritted his teeth when he reached the hall and marched into the kitchen, turning a fiery glare on his older brother Mark at once._

"_You used all the hot water!" he stated angrily._

_Mark looked up at him, his mouth full of bacon and eggs. "Wha'?"_

"_You used all the hot water!" Chris repeated. "I had to have a freezing cold shower because of you!"_

"_I needed to have a wash!"_

"_You don't even live here!" Chris snapped, as his grandmother pushed down on his shoulders so he'd sit down at the table._

_Mark grinned sheepishly and merely continued to shovel the scrambled eggs into his mouth. Chris shot daggers at him as a plate of eggs and bacon was placed in front of him. He looked at Charlie as if to say "What the hell is wrong with him?!" but Charlie just shrugged and grinned as he continued to read the newspaper._

_Chris bitterly began to eat his breakfast. Eight years had passed since his parents had died, and now at age 15, he was the only one of his brothers' still living with his grandparents. Now Scott and Mark were living together and Charlie was staying by himself, in apartments not far from the house._

_However, if you didn't know this, it would be easy to think that the three men still lived with their grandparents, due to the fact that they were there all the time. They came round every morning for breakfast, and most of the time for dinner, much to the joy of their grandmother who hadn't wanted them to move out in the first place._

_Chris, however, didn't share this joy. The constant stealing of the hot water, or Scott using all the tomato ketchup, or Charlie eating all the chips; He loved his brothers of course, but they drove him absolutely insane!_

"_Is there any ketchup left?" Chris asked, pointing the question at Scott._

_Scott glanced guiltily at the empty ketchup bottle that was sitting beside the salt shaker on the table. He looked at his little brother and shrugged._

"_Hey, If you're not fast, you're last." he said simply, and continued eating his ketchup-y eggs._

_Chris's shoulders sagged and he rolled his eyes. He cut up his bacon and placed a piece in his mouth._

"_I'm sensing some tension." said Mark, through the food in his mouth._

"_Who's feeling tension?" asked their grandfather, coming in from the garden through the back door. He smelt of the grass, having just been pulling weeds. He was wearing his muddy boots again, and their grandma raised a disapproving eyebrow at the dirty footprints he'd just made._

"_Chris is being bitchy." Mark grinned, and he avoided Chris's burning gaze._

"_I am not!" Chris argued._

"_Are too!"_

"_Am not!"_

"_Are too!"_

"_Am not!"_

"_Are t-_

"_Alright, alright! That's enough!" Mary cut in, before the argument went any further. She placed George's breakfast in front on him as he sat down, and went over to the kettle to prepare tea._

"_He started it." Mark muttered, and he sent Chris a sly grin._

"_What are you, five?" Charlie asked him, peering over the top of the newspaper._

"_Five going on 23!" Mark stated proudly and Scott snorted._

"_You're an idiot." Chris muttered. Mark narrowed his eyes at him._

"_Watch it pipsqueak." he warned. "Wouldn't want to find Walter in the garbage again now, would ya?"_

_Chris narrowed his eyes back at him."And you wouldn't want your friends to know you still suck your thumb."_

"_Why you little..." Mark started, standing slightly. Scott pulled him back down._

"_Cool it, you moron." he snipped._

_Mar eyed her grandsons as she sat down beside her husband. She sipped casually on her tea, but it was obvious she was watching for anymore bickering. Those two were always fighting with each other._

_Speaking of those two...Chris and Mark sat glaring at each other for the rest of breakfast._

_

* * *

Chris pushed his way through the crowds of teenagers, and plonked himself down beside his friends at their usual table in the cafeteria. The other teenagers bustled around them, and Chris placed his chin in his hand, as if bored._

"_What's the matter with you?" asked Mitch, one of his oldest friends, after taking a bite of his sandwich._

"_Nothing." Chris muttered. "My brothers have been driving me nuts, that's all."_

"_Well I have something that could cheer you up!" said Ryan proudly; another friend of his._

"_Yeah? What?" Chris asked him curiously._

"_There's this party tonight at my brother's girlfriend's friend's house." Ryan replied, and then he looked puzzled having just confused himself. "Or maybe it's my brother's girlfriend's cousin's friend..."_

_Chris rolled his eyes. "Leave it Ry, you'll hurt yourself." he said as Ryan started muttering the sentence to himself to see if it sounded right._

_Ryan shot him a look. "So are you coming or not?"_

"_I dunno..." Chris hesitated, looking slightly anxious._

"_Oh come on, it'll be fun!" Mitch pressed._

_Chris thought about it for a moment, biting softly on his bottom lip. _

"_There might be cute guys there..." Oscar, Ryan's best friend, said with a grin. He was gay like Chris was, and was constantly on the look out for a new boyfriend._

_Chris shot him a look, but then his shoulders sagged and he sighed._

"_Fine, I'll come." he decided._

"_Yeah, me too!" Oscar added._

"_I'll come round your house at 7:00 then." said Ryan to Chris. "Then we can go get these idiots and go to the party."_

"_Hey!" Oscar and Mitch called in unison._

"_Sure, whatever." Chris said, ignoring Oscar and Mitch._

"_What's this I hear about a party?" asked another friend of his, as he plonked down beside them. His name was Lewis, and Chris had been friends with him since he'd started at the high school._

"_There's a party tonight. Wanna come?" Mitch asked, and Lewis nodded._

"_Sure, why not." he said with a shrug._

_Chris let his attention drift away from them and looked around the crowd, his mood being dragged down. He was in a bad enough already, but the added thought of an afternoon of school work brought it down even further. _

_

* * *

Chris wasn't much for parties, truth be told. He had a thing with huge crowds. Charlie said he was claustrophobic, Mark said he was just weird. He didn't know why he as the way he was, but he knew it seemed to have started after his parents died._

_But either way, it was a rarity to see Chris Perry milling about in someone else's house, even though his friends tried to persuade him to come to parties all the time. He didn't know why he had come this time. Maybe just to give it a go._

_He was sitting on one of the plush couches joking around with his friends. The house was huge, in a ritzier part of town, and Chris felt very sub-standard compared to all this expensiveness. Grandma and grandpa would have never been able to afford anything like this. _

_He didn't know anybody either. They were all older kids, being Ryan's older brother's girlfriend's cousin's house (or whoever it was), and some were even college students, which didn't do much for Chris's alleged "weirdness". _

"_Chris, are you just gonna stay in this corner all night?" Mitch asked, exasperated._

_Chris pretended to be deep in thought and sighed, before nodding his head, shrugging and taking another drink of his Pepsi. Parties just weren't his thing. He wasn't exactly Mr. Popularity, but he had several friends and didn't feel the need to make more. He wasn't interested in horsing around with the jocks and he DEFINATELY wasn't interested in the busty red-head who kept smiling toothily at him. He'd learned long ago that he just didn't roll that way. Which was reason number 2 he hated parties; you never knew who was going to get drunk and start hitting on you. After a few shots of Jose Cueryo, boys like Chris started looking awful pretty to even the most butch, macho homophobe in that damned state._

"_Chris come on! If you sit there any longer, you're gonna start growing roots!" Oliver whined._

"_Well if I'm gonna take root in a stranger's house, this would be the one to settle in, dontcha think?" Chris laughed, looking around at the plush finery._

_Course, this wasn't the only finery he had his eye on; there were a couple of guys, mostly older, who caught Chris's attention when they walked in. But most of them arrived with a pretty girl in tow. It was frustrating as hell. Speaking of frustrating..._

"_Christopher Perry, are you telling me we dragged your ass all the way out here so you could sit on the couch all night?" demanded Ryan._

"_Pretty much, yeah." Chris shrugged, then sighed. "Look, I've told you before; I don't DO parties!"_

"_Well god Chris, you knows? You don't do parties, fine, you don't do people, alright, but maybe one of those 'people' would wanna do you!"_

_Lewis snorted, choking on his Dr. Pepper, and Chris glared at Ryan, his cheeks going pink._

"_For god's sake, Ry! Get your filthy mind out of the gutter!"_

_At 17, older than most of their group, Ryan rarely had his mind on anything but women and sex._

"_Chris, think about it; maybe if you got laid once in a while you wouldn't be so cranky!"_

"_I am NOT cranky!" Chris snipped, sending a mixed message._

_"Yeah, sure, and you also just weren't checking out Cody Oberheim's ass five minutes ago" at Chris's deep blush at his friends brash words, Ry softened. "Ok, ok! I get it! But look; there are a hundred guys here; god knows at least a few of them are gay! In fact, that guy over in the doorway has had his eye on you all evening..." naturally, Chris looked around the room, towards the doorway entering into the kitchen. There WAS a guy standing there, one of the older ones, who sent Chris a sly smile when they made eye contact. _

_Chris could feel his face colouring again; he WAS kinda cute, with dark brown hair and light stubble. Maybe if..._

_"Hey, what the hell does he think he's doing!?" Chris hissed suddenly, seeing Ryan striding over to the older guy and speak to him. His other friends just shook their heads. _

_"I think he's trying to hook you up, Chris!" said Mitch, trying to see past the heads of people._

_Chris groaned, hiding his head in his hands. This was SO not happening. The guy was at least 5 years older than him! And probably straight too. What the hell would he want to do with a scrawny little high-school boy? His anxiety hit a high note as the man started making his way through the crowds towards him, and he realized with a sinking feeling that his friends had "mysteriously" vanished..._

_"Hey! It's Chris, right?" the guy asked, casually falling beside Chris on the sofa. Chris swallowed thickly, and nodded his head. _

_"I'm Daegan," he smiled warmly, and extended his hand. It nearly swallowed Chris's, it was so much larger. Hell, he himself was a large guy. Tall, solid...Chris shook his head, trying to pay attention to what Daegan was saying. _

_"-wanted to come talk to you all night, but I didn't think you'd swing that way," he chuckled, and Chris melted; his laugh was light and timberey. _

"_Um, I'm sorry bout my friend..." Chris apologised, and his eyes did a scan of the place, trying to seek out his said friend._

"_No problem." Daegan smiled. "Gave me an excuse to come over here didn't it?"_

_Chris looked back at him, and smiled slightly. This guy just seemed so nice._

"_How old are you?" Daegan asked._

"_Uh, fifteen..." Chris muttered, worried than his age would put Daegan off. But he just raised his eyebrows with a smile playing on his lips._

"_And what is a fifteen year old doing at a big adult party like this?" he asked, his voice teasing._

"_You make it sound so sinister." Chris grinned._

"_Well for one thing, there's all that alcohol around, and for another," Daegan swept his eyes over him, before looking back into his green irises. "You end up having 21 year olds like me hitting on you."_

"_Oh, so THAT's what you're doing." Chris said, playing innocent, but his heart was beating hard in his chest. He was 21? A 21 year old guy was hitting on him?_

"_Yeah." Daegan grinned. "That a problem?"_

"_No but...why me, out of all these people though?" Chris asked thoughtfully, trying to hide how nervous he was. "I mean, are you trying to tell me that I'm the only person you wanted to talk to?"_

_Daegan grinned again. "You're the only one beautiful enough to catch my eye."_

_Chris blushed deeply, and looked down at his hands._

"_So have you got a boyfriend?" Daegan asked him, and Chris looked up again. His eyes were hazel, and Chris started to find himself lost in them._

"_Um, no." Chris replied, embarrassed. "Well I did have one, but we broke up."_

"_I don't get why anyone would want to let you go." Daegan said, sounding sincere, and Chris blushed again._

"_Are you always this flattering?" Chris asked, looking up at him through his dark bangs. He wasn't used to compliments._

"_Only to the people I'm attracted to." Daegan answered simply, and he smiled again. That smile that seemed to make Chris's heart melt._

_Sure, Chris had had a couple boyfriends, but never anything serious. One was a moron, one was all hands and the other had just been "experimenting" and none of them made Chris fucking giggle and blush. What the hell was he, a 9 year old girl?! But Daegan didn't seem to notice; if he did, he didn't say anything. In fact, he was a perfect gentleman to Chris, which was more than he could say about 99 of guys Chris had ever met. So 20 minutes later, when Daegan asked for his phone number, Chris didn't even hesitate to jot it down for him. He made a mental note to thank Ry later..._

_

* * *

Chris quietly opened the door to the house and tip-toed inside, closing the door behind him with a soft click. He made sure to lock it again, and then carefully made his way down the hall. All the lights were off, and he suddenly cursed under his breath as he banged his shin painfully on the small table that sat against the wall with the phone upon it._

"_What time do you call this?"_

_Chris winced and slowly turned around, cursing every god he knew. His grandparents had flicked on the light switch and were standing in the doorway leading to the living room. They had their night clothes on, grandma with the added convenience of a dressing gown, and they looked PISSED._

"_Uh, time for me to go to sleep?" Chris suggested innocently, but judging by his grandparents expressions, they weren't in the mood for games._

"_When is your curfew Chris?" his grandpa asked, crossing his arms across his chest and looking very stern._

"_Eleven." Chris mumbled, lowering his gaze to the carpet._

"_And what time is it now?"_

"_One." Chris muttered. He lifted his gaze and quickly tried to defend himself. "But I lost track of time and I tried to get home as quickly as possible when I realised and..._

_He trailed off when his grandparents continued to look angry. How was it that two people in their early sixties could make him feel so bad?_

"_Please don't ground me!" Chris whined. "At least not for this week."_

"_What's so special about this week?" asked his grandma with raised eyebrows._

_Chris shifted uncomfortably. "Oh...uh...well..."_

_His grandparents narrowed their eyes and his shoulders sagged. _

"_Ok, you don't need to beat it out of me! I met this guy and I gave him my number and he says he's gonna call me tomorrow so we can go out this week, and it'll sound SO lame if I say I can't go cause I'm grounded!" Chris quickly explained all in one breath._

_Relief swept through him when his grandparents' angry expressions were replaced by amused ones. They glanced at each other then looked back at him._

"_A boy?" his grandma repeated._

"_Well, he's a bit older than a "boy"..."_

"_Oh?" wet his grandpa, raising his thick grey eyebrows. "How old is he?"_

"_Um, nineteen." Chris lied. His grandparents would go nuts if they knew the truth._

"_Nineteen? He's a bit old for you is he not?" asked his grandpa, frowning._

"_He's an immature nineteen..." Chris said meekly, trying to make it sound better. Daegan was far from immature, but that was beside the point._

_The corners of his grandma's mouth quirked upwards slightly, but she stopped the smile from fully forming. They were supposed to be scolding him after all._

"_Well this guy is beside the point." she said. "The point is, you have a curfew and you broke it by two hours!"_

"_I know but-_

"_And you need to be punished for that." she finished firmly, and Chris's face fell._

"_Please don't ground me!" he begged, looking at each of his grandparents in turn. He really liked Daegan, and if he had to say he was grounded... Well, like he said; that'd be SO lame._

_His grandma and grandpa glanced at each other, and then his grandmother sighed as she looked back at him._

"_Fine, you're not grounded." She said._

"_But!" she quickly added at Chris's delighted expression. "You have extra chores to do."_

"_Fine by me!" Chris said happily. He blew them a kiss as he started jogging up the stairs. "You guys are the best!"_

"_Go straight to sleep!" George called after him._

"_Kay!" Chris called back from the hallway upstairs, and the sound of his door opening and closing could be heard._

_George and Mary looked at each other again._

"_Do you think he was even listening?" Mary asked._

_George smiled slightly and put his arm around her shoulder. "Probably not. He's more like Mark than he likes to think."_

_Mary chuckled slightly, and nodded as they made their way up the stairs towards bed, and sleep. "You right. But let's not repeat that around them."_

_

* * *

Chris threw himself down on his bed, grinning from ear to ear. He knew he'd never be able to get to sleep tonight; he was way too wired. His mind just kept going over his conversation with Daegan, and more specifically, all that flirting._

_Daegan was going to call him tomorrow... So they could go out on a date... Chris...on a date... with a 21 year old..._

"_Wow." Chris uttered to himself, and he grinned again._

_He was nervous, but he was excited at the same time. Daegan had been so nice to him, and flattering too, and not to mention SO good looking..._

_Chris rolled on to his stomach, laying his head on his arms. He felt very different about Daegan that he had about his other boyfriends. None of them had made butterflies appear in his stomach when he'd thought of them, or made him blush at the thought of a possible kiss. _

_He wondered what it would be like to kiss Daegan..._

* * *

Well, how was it?? Let me know by reviewing, pleeeeease :-P 


	6. Chapter 6

A/N Ok, you know what? I want NO complaints abou how long it took me, _because _do you know how many pages is in this chapter?? Well I'll tell you...ready?... FIFTEEN!! My longest yet, and I was checking the stats and it' got near enough twice as many words as last chapter! Yay!

But thank you for your patience! And all the reviews of course; you guys are awesome!

And now, I have VERY exciting news for you all!

**When Our Eyes Met the Movie, is in production!!**

That's right, you didn't hear wrong! I am making a movie version of this story using the Sims 2!! Exciting or what?? So not only will you be able to read the story, but you'll be able to have a fair visual of the important bits too! It's gonna be a music video actually, because getting voices for all the cast would be such a pain, but I'm really pleased with it so far. I have a few songs in mind but I've not decided yet. I'll post a few links to pics on my profile later this week of some characters, so you can get a taste of what it'll look like! Bear in mind that this is my first Sims 2 movie, but I'm trying my best to make it look good!

Well I think that's all, except my usual thanks to LLC (who's went mysteriously MIA... where are you sis?? I go on holiday and you disappear? Great. That's JUST great.)

Happy reading!

Chris yawned and arched his aching back. He was so tired! Who knew that his first day of his new job would be such hard...work? He was nearly at the end of his shift, but he felt like he could just drop to the floor and sleep.

He looked wearily around the bustling restaurant and watched the various customers, talking and laughing as they ate their meals. His co-workers were hurrying around, serving meals and fetching drinks. You couldn't say they didn't work for their money.

Chris rubbed his eyes tiredly, and cursed himself for not getting a better night's sleep. But then, it hadn't really been his fault. He'd been thinking too much of Wyatt...

Speaking of Wyatt; he was standing at the bar pouring drinks, and he looked so...hot. Chris bit softly of his bottom lip, trying to look nonchalant as he cast glances at him. Once or twice their eyes met, and Wyatt would smile at him, making Chris's stomach do a back flip.

Then he'd get mad at himself, because he knew he shouldn't have a crush on Wyatt. He was engaged for gods sake! A crush on an involved man would go nowhere. Not like Chris wanted it to go somewhere...

"Hey! New guy! Stop day dreaming!"

Chris rolled his eyes and turned around to see the current manager marching his way towards him. He was in his late twenties, with black, neatly cut hair. His power over the employees had gone to his head, and he'd turned into a complete asshole. Wyatt had warned Chris about him in the car that morning.

"I wasn't day dreaming, I was-

"Slacking off!" the manager cut in snappily and Chris had to bite his tongue from retorting sharply. He didn't want to get into trouble with the real boss.

"Just because it's your first day, doesn't mean you can work less than everybody else!"

"I-

"If I could, I'd fire you!"

"Well, you don't have that power David, so why don't you go bother someone else?"

Chris turned his head, and smiled slightly in relief when he saw Wyatt standing beside him with his arms crossed above his chest. He was looking at David with dislike etched across his face, and David puffed out his chest angrily.

"Just because you're the boss's son doesn't mean you can speak to me like that!" he said indignantly.

"Well I don't think the boss will be very happy when she hears the way YOU have been speaking to her waiters." Wyatt replied coolly.

David glared at them both before saying; "Get back to work." and storming off.

Wyatt shook his head at his retreating back. "I have no idea why mom hired him."

"Well he seems to have it in for me." Chris said with a sigh. "He already wants to fire me."

"Chris, he's got a stick stuck up his ass. Take no notice." Wyatt grinned. He put one arm around Chris's shoulders and steered him over to the bar.

"Here, you can help me with this." he said, as they got behind it.

"Okay." Chris said absently, glancing at his watch. Wyatt smiled at him, amused.

"Can't wait to get home eh?" he asked as he started pouring drinks for two customers on the other side of the bar.

"It's been a long day." Chris replied simply as he poured a pint of beer.

"It'll get easier when you get used to it."

"Hey guys." said Tony as he strolled over. A couple eyed his tattoos and large physique warily, and moved further down the bar to increase their distance away from him.

"Hey Tony." Chris and Wyatt said in unison, as Tony placed his forearms on the bar and leant on it casually.

"How's it going?" Tony asked Chris.

Chris shrugged indifferently. He appreciated Wyatt getting him the job, he really did, but he was so tired, and apparently already hated by the manager. NOT a good start!

"Good." Chris replied, giving his large friend a slight smile.

"Still on for next Tuesday?" Tony asked them.

"Course. We'll kick their asses with Chris on our team." said Wyatt, giving Chris a new grin as Chris raised his eyebrows.

"Oh of course, cause I'm brilliant at bowling."Chris said sarcastically, and his friends smiled at him.

"As long as you can hit at least some of the pins, then great." Tony said kindly.

Chris smiled again.

"But we better win because I SO don't want to lose to two girls and a tranny..."

* * *

Wyatt inserted his key into the door of his apartment and pushed it open once he heard the click of the lock releasing. He yawned as he tossed the keys on to a table in the hall and made his way through the living room where a light was on. He entered and saw Carla lounging on the sofa, the remote for the TV in her hand as she flicked through the channels. She smiled up at him as he walked over and sat down beside her.

"Good day at work?" she asked, putting the remote on the arm of the sofa.

"It was tiring." was all Wyatt said as he leant his head back and closed his eyes.

"Well you're home now." Carla said as she snuggled into his chest. "I was just about to watch a movie; want to watch it with me?"

"I was just gonna go to bed." Wyatt yawned and Carla nodded.

"Alright then."

She sat up and smiled kindly at him as he rubbed his eyes. "Hey, it won't be for long. You'll be able to take it part time after the wedding is all paid for."

"Yeah, I know." Wyatt smiled tiredly at her and went to lean in for a kiss goodnight.

"By the way," Carla started before he did, and he paused.

"Yeah?"

"You know that dinner we were planning on having with my parents?"

Wyatt slowly nodded grudgingly. How could he forget? The visit had quickly turned in an hourly affair of a dinner, and had been originally planned for this Wednesday coming until Carla's parents said they weren't free that night. They said they could do it some other time, and Carla had taken this to heart. She was dead-set on it.

"Well I was talking to my mother today, and we've agreed it'll be next week on Thursday night. Then I spoke to your mom-

"Whoa, why were you speaking to my mom about it?" Wyatt cut in.

"Because I invited your parents to come too!" Carla smiled. "THEN your mom said we could have the dinner at the manor, and she'd cook! Isn't that great?"

Wyatt stared at her then blinked. He nervously chuckled slightly.

"Uh, honey? My parents, and your parents in the same room?..."

He trailed off, letting the sentence hang in the air, until Carla's shoulders sagged and she smiled as she moved her head from side to side.

"Wyatt, they're grown adults. I'm sure they can go one evening without arguing with one another, and anyway; they'll need to learn to get along if we're getting married." she said, sounding amused.

'Yeah, we'll see how friendly they are.' Wyatt thought to himself as he nodded. Next Thursday was NOT going to be fun.

* * *

Tuesday night came by a lot quicker than expected. So quickly in fact, that Chris was running about his apartment like a headless chicken when Wyatt was due to pick him up in 10 minutes. And 10 minutes MEANT ten minutes considering he was just across the hall. Hell, he might even be early, and Chris still hadn't gotten himself looking sexy enough.

Which was of course the whole point of why he was running around. Just because Wyatt had a fiancée, didn't mean he couldn't give Chris a double take when he walked out the door now did it? Making an effort never hurt anyone.

Chris skidded to a halt in front of his mirror and hurriedly tried to fix his hair. Why had he taken so long to pick out an outfit?!

There was a loud knock on the front door, just as Chris finished tying the shoelaces on his sneakers. His heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly stood up and went through to the door. He placed a kiss on the picture of his parents as always, then stood in front of the wooden door for a moment. Nervousness didn't begin to describe how he was feeling, which was ridiculous considering this wasn't even something to be nervous about, like a date for example. A date with Wyatt...

Chris was broken out of his thoughts with a jump as there was another loud knock on the door. He quickly grasped the handle and pulled open the door to reveal Wyatt looking just as fine as always... He was wearing a black shirt, and jeans, and that smile...

"Hey, ready to go?" he asked cheerfully.

"Um, yeah." Chris replied after swallowing. He stepped out the door and turned around so he could lock it. He hoped Wyatt was checking him out after all that bloody hard work! He'd nearly sprained his ankle twice in there.

"We're just gonna meet everyone at the bowling alley, ok?" said Wyatt as Chris finished locking the door and they started walking down the many flights of steps.

"Yeah, sure." Chris said absently as he is eyes wandered down to Wyatt's butt.

They snapped up again when Wyatt started talking to him again.

* * *

"YES!!" Chris and Wyatt cheered, jumping from their seats as Tony scored a strike. Tony punched the air, also giving a shout of celebration. He proceeded to do his customary victory dance.

"Losers!" he called to Kacey, Lisa and Andy, as he used his thumb and forefinger to make an L sign on his forehead.

"Fuck off!" Andy called back to him and Tony grinned. He gave Wyatt and Chris a high-five each and sat down, still grinning smugly at his three other friends.

"Just you watch, I'll wipe that smile of your face right now!" Andy threatened and he got up and picked up a bowling ball.

"Yeah, just try it twinkle-toes!" Tony laughed.

Andy sneered at him, then walked forward, swung his arm back and cast the ball down the aisle towards the pins. Lisa and Kacey cheered as he knocked down nine of them.

"Pah! Nine? P-a-t-h-e-t-i-c!" Tony grinned, and he laughed again as Andy flipped him off.

"Hey, I only score four at the most!" Chris pointed out, pretending to be offended as he gave Tony a dig in the ribs.

"Yeah, but you haven't played as much as we have." said Wyatt with kind smile.

"Exactly!" Tony agreed. "Watch you don't trip Andy!"

"Fuck off Tony!" Andy called over his shoulder as he went in for his second turn. The ball went zooming down the aisle, but it missed the remaining pin.

"HA!" Tony yelled, jumping from his seat. "Who's wiping the smile off who's face now, eh?"

Andy gave him a playful shove and sat down. "We'll see! Only one more shot to go until the game's finished, and we're in front of you in points anyway."

Wyatt, Chris and Tony looked up at the scoreboard. It was true; they were seven points behind. It wouldn't have been much of a problem, if it hadn't been Chris' turn next.

"All you have to hit is seven!" Tony said to him before he got up. "Just seven! Then they'll be paying for the drinks tonight!"

"No pressure." Chris muttered as he stood up and picked up his ball.

"Go on Chris!" Tony called as he got into position.

"You can do it Chris!" Wyatt called.

Chris took in a deep breath, eyeing the pins critically. He had two shots at getting seven of them down. He went forward, swung his arm back, and sent the ball down the aisle as hard as he could. He watched it with baited breath, and winced as he heard the crash of it hitting the pins.

Then his shoulders sagged in disappointment. He'd only knocked down four.

"You've still got another shot Chris!" Wyatt said optimistically and Chris nodded nervously as he picked up another ball and waited for the pins to be sorted.

He took another deep breath, the pressure of this shot hanging over him as he sent the ball down the aisle. He even closed his eyes, waiting, then...

"YES!!"

Chris snapped his eyes opened and smiled when he realised he'd managed to hit another four. He turned around and laughed when Wyatt grabbed him and spun him around excitedly. Tony was busy chanting at the other three;

"LOO-SERS! LOO-SERS! LOO-SERS!"

Wyatt stopped spinning and set Chris back on the ground before going beside Tony and joining his loser chant. Chris wobbled a bit, feeling dizzy, but he was smiling. Having Wyatt's arms around him had felt so nice...

* * *

"Alright, here you go." said Andy, sounding defeated as he placed the shots of vodka in front of each of his friends.

"Why, how very generous of you!" grinned Tony as he picked up his shot.

"Oh stop your gloating!" Kacey snipped as she too picked up her own shot.

"Cheers." said Wyatt before anything else could be said between the two, and the seven of them downed the shots.

"Can I just ask something?" Rebecca said after grimacing at the taste. Before anyone answered, she continued. "Why are we at a gay club?"

"Well, Rebecca, I have something to tell you," Andy began seriously. "The truth is...I'm gay."

"No!" Tony gasped. "Really? I had no idea!"

"Oh, ha ha." Rebecca said in a dead panned voice.

"I was asking because, if you haven't noticed, I'm NOT gay." she added, and she cast a look around the crowded club. "There's no guys for me to hit on!" she whined.

"What a disaster." Andy muttered, and Rebecca scowled at him.

"I'll go get us more drinks." Chris cut in as he stood up. "What do you guys want?"

Once he'd been given the list of drinks, he walked over to the crowded bar and leant on it as he waited to be served. Rebecca had joined them after the bowling, but Chris had a feeling she was regretting doing so. A gay club wasn't exactly a place for her.

Finally the bartender managed to get round to him, and he gave the guy his order. There was a little puddle of water on top of the bar and Chris started playing with it with his index finger as he waited. He tried drawing out his name, but it didn't work so well.

A man in his mid-twenties placed himself beside him. Chris paid no attention to him, too deep in his own thoughts as he waited to barely notice him.

"What can I get you?" another bartender asked the guy, sounding exhausted.

"A beer thanks," Chris noticed the guy glance at him. "And whatever he's wanting."

Chris looked up, surprised, and the stranger smiled slightly at him. Chris felt a light blush creep on to his cheeks as he grew slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, uh, I've already ordered. But thanks though." he said.

"I'll pay for it then." the man replied.

"It's a big order."

"Drink a lot?"

Chris blushed again. "No, it's not all for me. I'm getting drinks for my friends too."

The man smiled. "Ah. Well maybe I could buy you your next drink."

Chris smiled back, and decided on a whim to flirt a bit. He was in that sort of mood. "Yeah, maybe."

The man extended his hand. "I'm Jason."

Chris smiled and shook his hand. It was warm and he had a nice, firm handshake. "Chris."

They were interrupted by the bartender handing Chris his order on a black tray. Chris balanced it on his arm and smiled Jason before wandering back over to the bustling table. He didn't speak a word to them as he handed out the drinks, but he looked over his shoulder to see Jason watching him.

"Who's that?" Kacey asked, making Chris look at her.

"Oh, just some guy." Chris said absently, not wanting to draw any attention. He pulled out his stool and sat down beside Wyatt.

"Was he _flirting _with you?" Rebecca piped in with a grin. She took a sip of her Pina Colada using a black straw and watched him with an amused expression on her face.

"No." Chris automatically argued. Then he wavered a bit. "Well, maybe..."

"You should go have a drink with him." Andy suggested as he picked up his own drink.

Chris shook his head, feeling embarrassed. "No, I'm out with you guys."

"So? We won't be offended; honest." said Lisa, and she winked at him.

Chris bit his bottom lip softly and looked over his shoulder again. The guy was looking away but a second later he turned his head and looked at him again. Chris looked back at his friends.

"You think I should?" he asked.

"Yeah! Go on, have fun." Andy pressed with a grin.

Chris looked at them for a moment, trying to decide what to do. Then, finally, he came to a decision and nodded.

"Well, okay." he decided, but he quickly added; "But I won't be long."

"Yeah, sure." said Tony with a grin, and Chris smiled back at him as he slid off his stool and walked over to Jason, who was still standing by the bar. Jason smiled at him as he approached. Chris leant casually against the bar and smiled back at him.

"You can by me that drink now if you like." Chris suggested.

"It'd be my pleasure." Jason grinned.

* * *

Wyatt had been silent the entire time his friends had been convincing Chris to go have a drink with that guy. He'd kept silent because he'd felt no urge to get involved and so he'd casually sat drinking his beer, watching Chris over the top of the glass bottle.

Now Chris was by the bar, talking to the stranger. He laughed at something the guy said, and Wyatt had the strangest feeling in his stomach when the guy lightly touched the top of Chris's hand.

It was a horrible feeling. Twisting and convulsing, bubbling and churning, all at the same time. His grip tightened around the bottle and a muscle in his jaw twitched as he gritted his teeth at the sight of this stupid stranger hitting on his friend. Who did he think he was, taking Chris away from them when they were having a night out? That guy had some nerve...

The guy put his hand on the small of Chris' back and steered him over to a table not far from the bar. Chris happily sat down and laughed again at no doubt some other smart ass joke. The feeling in Wyatt's stomach got steadily worse, and he found that he couldn't keep his eyes off the young brunette. The reason for this, he didn't know...

'_I'm just being protective, that's all.'_ he told himself.

Yeah, that was right. He was just being a protective friend. No other reason could be causing this feeling...

But the feeling seemed to be getting worse the more he watched them flirting with each other.

'_Maybe you're jealous...' _a little voice at the back of his mind uttered.

Wyatt shook his head and almost laughed at this ridiculous thought. Why the hell would he be jealous? He and Chris were just friends for God's sake!

'_Maybe you want it to be more than that...' _said the voice.

Wyatt took a defiant gulp of his beer.

'_Maybe you're starting to have feelings for Chris...'_

He placed the bottle down hard on the table, making a small bang that fortunately went unnoticed in the noisy club.

'_Maybe you wish you were the one making a move on him...'_

"Hey guys, I'll be right back." Wyatt said abruptly as he stood up.

"Where you going?" Tony asked.

"Outside." Wyatt said shortly, and he started weaving his way through the crowds until he reached a fire exit leading into the alleyway beside the club.

His hot skin welcomed the cool air as he stepped and leant against the brick wall. His breath made little clouds in the frosty temperature but he paid no attention to the fact his skin had erupted with goose bumps. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes as he leant his head back.

Wyatt needed to get these stupid thoughts out of his head. He was engaged, and it wasn't a good start to the commitment if he was having niggling feelings for someone else.

'_Which I'm not!' _Wyatt told himself defiantly.

But the more he argued against the feelings inside of him, the stronger they became. He began thinking of times when he and Chris had been in close contact, like earlier when he'd grabbed Chris and spun him around. Or the night Chris hugged him for getting him a job.

Chris looked amazing tonight. He'd noticed as soon as Chris had opened the door.

'_Stop it!' _Wyatt scolded himself as he rubbed his eyes. This was ridiculous! How could one guy flirting with Chris cause so many feelings to explode inside of him? He just felt...jealous.

Wyatt pushed away from the wall and walked back into the club. He walked past his friends without them noticed and made a bee-line towards the bar.

"Double vodka." he said immediately to the bartender who nodded and went to fetch his order.

Wyatt put his elbows on the bar surface and rested his head in his hand. He needed to get these stupid, ridiculous thoughts out of his mind. He was getting married. Married to Carla; beautiful Carla with her soft blonde hair and blue eyes. Sure she got on his nerves sometimes with her close-mindedness, but he loved her.

He wasn't thinking of Carla at the moment though. Nope, all he could think about was Chris. Chris and that guy...

Wyatt lifted his head when he felt a presence beside him. He looked to his side to see none other than the guy he was getting all angry about. He didn't acknowledge Wyatt as he ordered a drink for Chris. Wyatt knew it was for Chris; it was the same one he always got.

Wyatt got his vodka and gripped the shot glass tightly. He bit his tongue to stop himself from saying anything and downed the harsh liquid.

The guy glanced at him and Wyatt only moved his eyes to see why. The guy looked away.

"Getting a drink for Chris?" Wyatt asked casually, although he already knew the answer.

"You know him?" The guy asked sounding very curious and Wyatt nodded as he ordered another shot.

"Just from around." he lied with an indifferent shrug. "I don't know him that well."

"Oh." was the only reply he got.

"So how is it going then?" Wyatt asked, trying to sound as if he didn't really care.

The guy shrugged. "Pretty good. I'm not really into this getting to know people crap though."

Wyatt frowned. "Uh, isn't that the whole point of having a drink with him?"

"It's not like I want a relationship," the guy explained as if this were a routine thing. "I'm just hoping he's easy."

Wyatt blinked. His brain wasn't quite registering what the guy had just said. He knew what the term "easy" meant, of course he did, but he wondered if he'd heard wrong.

"What?"

"You know, _easy_," the guy emphasised. "Dude, seriously, I've not been laid in a month!"

Wyatt stared at him, not quite believing what he was hearing. He frowned at the guy.

"Wait, so... All you want is for Chris to sleep with you?" he asked in disbelief.

"Well yeah," the guy smirked, looking amused with himself. "I mean he's hot; who wouldn't wanna fuck him, ya know?"

He chuckled slightly, obviously expecting Wyatt to agree with him like his slimy friends probably did. But Wyatt couldn't believe his ears. What a mother fucking asshole! He was flirting with Chris and buying him drinks just so he could get into bed with him?! Wyatt felt the anger starting to bubble in his stomach and he set the shot glass down hard on the bar surface as he stood up to his full height. He opened his mouth to let rip at the bastard, to tell him to stay the fuck away from Chris or else, when he was struck with a sudden idea.

Tony had caught his eye.

"Uh, you know what man? I wouldn't if I were you." Wyatt said, trying to sound like he was concerned for the guy's well being. He relaxed his muscles slightly, trying to look casual.

"What d'you mean?"

"Well, Chris has a boyfriend." Wyatt explained.

The guy looked surprised. "He does?"

Wyatt nodded and pointed at Tony. "See him over there? The huge guy that could kill you with his bare hands? Yeah, him."

All colour drained from the guy's face. "You serious?"

"Deadly serious. I wouldn't get on the wrong side of him if I were you. You might find yourself with no legs." Wyatt replied.

The guy swallowed and nodded nervously as he looked back at Wyatt.

"Chris didn't mention a boyfriend..." he said, sounding slightly scared.

"He doesn't a lot of the time. Chris is quite flirtatious by nature, and as you can imagine, his boyfriend gets pretty angry with guys hitting on him. He's very possessive and violent. Very, VERY violent." Wyatt continued, exaggerating for all he was worth. He watched with satisfaction as the guy grew more and more terrified by the second.

"I saw him break a guy's nose for just winking at him once." Wyatt said lightly. "You're very lucky he hasn't seen you yet."

The guy glanced, horrified, at Tony.

"If I were you, I'd leave." said Wyatt, and the guy nodded.

"Yeah, good idea." he said. He looked at Wyatt. "Thanks man." he said quickly and he sped away from the bar.

"No problem!" Wyatt called after him with a fake smile which promptly vanished when his back was turned. "Asshole." he uttered under his breath.

The guy hurried over to the table Chris was sitting at and grabbed his jacket from the stool. Wyatt watched as he said something to Chris and practically hauled it out of the club, leaving Chris looking very confused and bewildered. Wyatt looked at him sympathetically and picked up the drink that had been bought for him by the guy. He walked over to the table.

"Hey, everything okay?" Wyatt asked him.

"Uh, well, no," Chris began, frowning at the door Jason had just exited. "That was really weird..."

"What happened?" Wyatt asked as he sat down. He didn't want Chris to know what had really been on Jason's mind, so he kept quiet about it.

"He said he needed to go and just left. It was really sudden." Chris explained. He still looked confused.

"Well, he was an asshole anyway." Wyatt said without thinking. Chris looked at him.

"What?"

"Oh," Wyatt tried to think of an excuse. "Well, he ditched you."

"I probably scared him off." Chris said glumly as he placed his chin in his upturned hand.

"No, don't think that!" Wyatt said immediately. Chris's emerald eyes met his and he continued. "Chris, any guy would be crazy to skip out on you. You're beautiful on the inside and out; it's his problem, not yours."

A slow, small smile appeared on Chris's face as a warmth spreading through him at Wyatt's words. He knew Wyatt was just being kind but it was nice to hear anyway.

"Here," said Wyatt, placing the drink he was holding in front of his brunette friend. "Drink up."

"Thanks." Chris said quietly, looking at it.

Wyatt watched him for a moment then stood up. He extended his hand towards Chris.

"Come on," he said and Chris looked up at him. "Come back over to our table, have some fun, and forget all about that asshole."

Chris smiled again and took Wyatt's hand, holding his drink in the other. Wyatt pulled him out of his seat and led him through the crowds. He didn't let go of his hand until they reached the table, but even then, he did it reluctantly.

* * *

Finally the night was over and everyone was ready to retire to their apartments. They hadn't drunk as much as their last outing and after saying their goodbyes, Chris and Wyatt made the familiar trek up to their floor without tripping up the steps or fumbling their words. Wyatt was actually having bother saying anything at all, feeling embarrassed at his previous thoughts at the cub. Chris didn't seem to notice his awkwardness and chatted to him like he usually did.

They finally reached the correct floor. Wyatt turned to Chris to say goodbye.

"Do you wanna come in?" Chris asked, taking him off-guard. Wyatt blinked and glanced at the door leading into Chris's apartment.

"Uh..."

His brain was screaming NO! at him, despite the fact that he really DID want to. After a second of inner battling, his feelings overrode his mind and he nodded. He wasn't doing anything wrong by going in the apartment surely. It wasn't even that late; Carla wouldn't be fuming about his absence for another hour at least.

Chris smiled and turned to open the door with the key he'd just retrieved from his pocket. Wyatt took this chance to look at his ass, which he had to admit looked _great_...

Wyatt shook his head as if to rattle his thoughts out of his ears and forced himself to look at the wall beside Chris's head instead. This was ridiculous.

Chris pushed the door open and gestured for Wyatt to follow him as he stepped inside. Wyatt did so, starting to feel that this was a very bad idea. He closed the door behind him, and mentally told himself to calm the fuck down.

"I'll make us some coffee." Chris said. "Make yourself comfortable."

Wyatt nodded and Chris retreated into the kitchen to put the kettle on. As he was in there, Wyatt took a look around the living room he was standing in. His front door led straight in their living room too, and it was weird seeing the same layout look so different. Chris obviously hadn't had time to redecorate, and the walls were the same colour of blue that the last tenant had had them. He didn't have much furniture either, but Wyatt could understand this considering how far Chris had travelled with not that much money to start with.

There were a few things that caught his interest though. On the small table sitting at one end of the couch, lay a small pile of photographs. Wyatt didn't like to be nosy but considering the photographs were right beside the couch that Chris would expect him to sit on, he walked over and picked them up.

There were only four pictures; the first was of four children. Now, he said children but the oldest looked around sixteen. Wyatt peered closer at the youngest boy, and realised by his looks that it was Chris. Wyatt smiled slightly at the little boy grinning cheekily at the camera, and wondered who the other three were. It made him realise that actually, he didn't know much about Chris at all.

He put this photograph to the back and looked at the second. After studying it for a moment he realised it was the same boys and Chris again, but just a lot older. Chris looked in his teens, around fourteen, and the other three looked in their twenties or near enough there. He wondered again who they were. That was two photographs, spanning over at least eight years which made Wyatt think they were either close friends of the family or related.

He looked closer to see if they looked alike. The oldest had auburn hair and blue eyes. Wyatt's eyes glanced to Chris then back to him again, and he decided that there was some similarity. The other two looked a lot a like, both with brown hair and a similar hairstyle. One had green eyes and the other blue and the elder looking of the two and Chris had very similar smiles. They quirked at the right corner in the same way.

Wyatt looked at the third photograph. It was of Chris as little boy again and he looked around six or seven. He was sitting on a woman's lap and he was giggling with his eyes closed as she placed a kiss against his cheek and hugged him tightly against her. She had thick, red hair that fell in waves to her shoulder blades and her green eyes sparkled in the flash of the camera. They didn't seem to be posing for the picture; it was as if someone had just picked it up and snapped a shot of them in the passing.

Finally, Wyatt looked at the last photograph of the bunch. It was a picture from one Christmas, and all the people he'd saw already, aside from the woman, were in it. There was also a man he hadn't saw before, with short brown hair and deep blue eyes. Chris was around six, the same age as he was in the last photograph it seemed, and the others in their teens or just about (the youngest of the three looked around eleven). It also seemed to be a candid picture, because none of them were actually looking at the camera. They all sat on the floor near a Christmas tree, surrounded by ripped wrapping paper and the presents they'd received. In fact, Chris had been in the middle of opening on when the shot had been taken, a teddy bear tucked under his arm. He was dressed in rumpled green pyjamas and his hair was sticking up every which way, but he was grinning widely, having obviously seeing what he was opening was something he'd put on his list to Santa Clause. The three other boys and the man were sitting around a medium sized remote control car track. The man and brown haired boy with the similar smile to Chris's were racing two of the small toy cars around the track whilst the other two watched. They were laughing as one of the cars seemed to be flying off one of the sharper bends.

"Mark couldn't get it right. His car came flying off at _every _bend."

Wyatt spun around, photograph still in hand, and saw Chris standing there with a cup of coffee in each hand.

"I'm sorry I-

"Don't be, they're just photographs." Chris said, sounding amused as he passed one of the cups over to him.

"Are they you're family?"

Chris nodded and moved closer so he could point everyone out. "They're my brothers," he gestured at the three boys with his forefinger. "That's Charlie, Mark, and Scott." he pointed to each one respectively.

"They look a lot older than you." Wyatt said, surprised by this information. Chris had never mentioned having brothers before.

Chris smiled slightly. "They are. I wasn't planned so my mom and dad thought they were finished until I came by as a little surprise later on."

Wyatt smiled at this and looked back at the photograph.

"Charlie is thirty two now. Scott is twenty five and Mark is going to be thirty next week actually..." Chris trailed off looking thoughtful. "I'll need to remember and send him over a present. He'll badger me about it if I don't."

"You didn't tell me you had brothers." Wyatt said, voicing his thoughts.

"You never asked." Chris said simply, with a slight smile. He hadn't taken his eyes off the photograph, his eyes looking over each detail like looking at it for the first time.

"Who's that?" Wyatt asked, pointing to the man.

"My dad." Chris said. He smiled, struck with a sudden memory. "He had a bad hair cut that Christmas. Our mom tried cutting it for him herself and lost control of the clippers."

"Is that your mom?" Wyatt asked after chuckling at the thought. He pointed to the red haired woman.

Chris nodded, giving a quiet "Yeah." and if Wyatt had been looking at him, he may have seen the pain of loss flashing in his eyes as he looked at his parents. He didn't miss his tone of voice though.

"You miss them?" he asked.

"Yeah... a lot." Chris replied. He got flashes of the fire blazing around him, the smoke filling his lungs, and he turned away from Wyatt, pretending to be busy drinking his own coffee. It was still hard to think about, even sixteen years later.

"You can go visit them though." Wyatt said, thinking they were back in New York. Well, they were...just six feet under ground in wooden boxes.

Chris just decided to tell him and he smiled sadly, shaking his head as he turned around again. "My brothers, yeah. But my parents... they died when I was seven."

Wyatt's eyes slightly widened in shock. "Oh, Chris I'm sorry. I didn't kn-

"No, it's ok." Chris cut in, not wanting Wyatt to feel bad. "Well no, it's not ok they're dead but... it happened a long time ago."

"Me and my big mouth..." Wyatt muttered, and Chris smiled.

"Don't worry about it." he said reassuringly. "Just drink you're coffee and shut up." he joked.

Wyatt grinned and took a gulp of the dark brown liquid. Then he grimaced, nearly choking on the horrible taste and Chris laughed.

"Welcome to my world of cheap instant coffee." he said a grin.

* * *

An hour and a half had passed, the two cups of coffee having lying forgotten for ages now. They now sat stone cold on the table beside the couch. Wyatt and Chris had spent the time actually getting to know each other for once, because despite all the time they'd had with other, they hadn't really discussed themselves and their backgrounds. Wyatt told him all about his cousins, and erratic aunts, and his uncles, and his dad and his mom. He felt slightly bad talking about how great his childhood had been, when it was obvious Chris's hadn't been so peachy from the age of seven onwards, but Chris didn't make him feel uncomfortable about it. He actually seemed like he genuinely wanted to hear about it, and happily shared his own, good, childhood memories. He didn't mention anything past the age of 15 though, which was a little weird, but Wyatt didn't ask.

Now Wyatt had finally decided that he better get home because no doubt Carla was fuming away in the living room, waiting for him to get in. Chris walked him to the front door, both of them laughing at Wyatt's recollection of his dad locking himself out of the house. Wyatt opened the door and turned to say goodbye. He was glad he hadn't listened to his head.

"I had a good time tonight, thanks to you." Chris said with that quirky smile of his.

"I feel the same way about you. Well, aside from that coffee..." Wyatt trailed of with a grin.

Chris didn't say anything, but raised an eyebrow. Wyatt chuckled, and went to say goodbye again so he could go home... But before he knew it, he found himself drinking in every feature of Chris's face. Damn, and he'd been doing so good too.

But Chris was too beautiful not to notice. The fact had been lingering at the back of his mind, but they'd been so busy talking that he hadn't been focusing on it. However, now that he had nothing to preoccupy him, he couldn't stop himself.

And then, suddenly he'd closed that small gap between them and he was kissing him, pushing him back against the wall, running his fingers through his silky brown hair and feeling jolts of excitement as Chris's soft tongue tangled with his own. And god, it felt so good. He felt lighter than air, like he was on drugs-

"Wyatt?"

Wyatt jumped slightly, as if he'd just been shocked. His mind came back into focus and he looked at Chris who was standing in front of him with a slight frown on his face. Wyatt realised he'd spaced out and his face flushed.

"Sorry, I spaced out. I'll see you later." he said hurriedly, sidling past him.

"Oh, uh, bye." Chris called after him, wondering what the hell happened as he hurried out the door. He slowly closed it after him, and turned back around with a frown.

"Weird..."

* * *

-grins- So now it's Wyatt's turn to develop a crush... Hope you enjoyed! Please review!


	7. Character Profiles

Hello everyone, it's me again! I just have to apologise for the inexcusably long wait, and I have to apologise even more for this pitiful excuse of an update... As you can see, it's not really a chapter. I know you probably want to kill me, first for making you wait so long then just givng you this to read, but I hope you enjoy it somewhat!

All it is is profiles of the characters, from the main ones to the less important people. They provide information that might not show up in the story, so it might interest you. Then again, it might not.

As you'll notice, none of Wyatt's family is included. This because, being cannon characters of Charmed, you'll all know everyting I tell you anyway. So I figured there was no point in wasting my time writing profiles for them. I also haven't included Daegan, with the simple reason that I don't want to tell you anything about him yet -wink-

Even though this isn't a proper update, I hope you like it anyway. I'm trying very hard to write the next proper chapter, but it's proving to be a pain in the ass. But I'll try my best to make sure it isn't too long before you see it.

Oh! **IMPORTANT**: Please check out my new messageboard call Bewitched! The poor thing is all set up but no members, aside from a few, to post in it! So please join up and introduce yourself in the Welcome forum! You can find the site by clicking "Homepage" on my profile.

The admins are as follows:

xXxJessicaxXx (Me)

angel23 (Long-Live-Christopher)

historybuff1990 (History Buff 1990)

And now my A/N is finally over! Happy reading!

**

* * *

MAIN CHARACTERS**

**Name**: Christopher "Chris" Aiden Perry

**Age**: 22

**Occupation**: Waiter at "Charmed"

**Eyes**: Emerald green

**Hair**: Dark brown

**General appearance**: Slim, petite, pale skin. Freckle at the side of his nose. Needs a haircut as his hair keeps getting into his eyes.

**Personality**: Enigmatic and secretive. Shy and slightly wary when meeting new people, but he becomes more open when he gets to know them. Trust is a big thing for him, due to past events, and it's hard to win back if it's broken. He has a sweet and quiet air around him. His personality has changed a lot since he was a teenager, due to certain things happening. The only people he really shows his true personality around are his brothers, and then he's a lot more confident and out-spoken.

**Family**: Grandparents: George (76), Mary (75). Parents: John (39 - deceased), Rachel (38 - deceased). Siblings: Charlie (32), Mark (29), Scott (27).

**Note:** He has other family, since I decided one boring day to draw up a family tree, but this is the only family that appear in the story. If anyone decides that they are desperate to know the other branches of the family tree though, then you can ask and I'll tell you later.

**Relationship status: **Single

**Previous relationships (of significant mentioning)**: Daegan Callo

**Special talents**: Can sing the alphabet backwards.

**

* * *

Name**: Wyatt Matthew Halliwell

**Age**: 24

**Occupation**: Waiter at "Charmed"

**Eyes**: Crystal blue

**Hair**: Dark blonde

**General appearance**: Tall, around 6'3, and lightly tanned skin. Slightly muscular with broad shoulders.

**Personality**: Generally confident and out-going, but not full of himself. Kind to others, unless they particularly piss him off, and then his temper is not something to be trifled with. Would do anything for the people he loves, his friends included.

**Family: **Grandparents: Victor (77), Patty (28 - deceased). Parents: Piper (53), Leo (55). Aunts: Phoebe (51), Paige (49). Uncles: Coop (53), Henry (50). He also has a number of female cousins.

**Relationship status**: Engaged (Carla Marshall)

**Previous relationships**: Joanna Stephenson, Lisa Maples

**Special talents**: He can do that magic trick where you pull a coin from behind someone's ear. Used it to entertain his cousins when he still lived in the manor.

**

* * *

Name**: Charlie John Perry. (**Note: **Charlie is short for Charles, but if you call him that he'll probably maim and kill you)

**Age**: 32

**Occupation**: Mechanic

**Eyes**: Indigo blue

**Hair**: Auburn

**General appearance**: Despite being older, he's smaller than Mark at 6'2, which is still tall to most people. Pretty toned and broad shouldered, and his skin has some warmth to it but it's not particularly tanned.

**Personality: **Mature and quite sensible, mostly due to taking up the role of dad when their parents died, being the eldest and all. A lot of pressure was put on him because of this, but he's not one to complain. Very protective of his family, especially his brothers, and looks out for them. Can be a bit hot-headed when the situation arises and his temper is easily flared when someone tries to hurt any of his family, but he's generally easy going.

**Family**: Grandparents: George (76), Mary (75). Parents: John (39 - deceased), Rachel (38 - deceased). Siblings: Mark (29), Scott (27), Chris (22).

**Relationship status: **Seeing someone (Mary-Jane Carter)

**Previous relationships**: Anna McAllister

**Special talents**: Has a brilliant knack for fixing things, so there's never been a need to call a handyman in the Perry household.

**

* * *

Name:** Mark Martin Perry

**Age**: 29

**Occupation**: Temp (**Note**: Mark isn't the sort of person that can stay at one job for long, so he figured that this was the best solution to the problem)

**Eyes**: Jade green

**Hair**: Dark brown

**General appearance**: Tall, 6'4, and lanky. He's the tallest of the four brothers. Mischievous smile and shows emotion easily through his eyes, even if his body language is saying something different. Quite pale-skinned, but not milk bottle white. He and Chris are the ones that look the most alike out of the four.

**Personality**: Very hot-headed and out-spoken. Speaks his mind A LOT. Extremely protective of his family, especially Chris because of past events, and would think nothing of ripping someone's head off to protect him. He comes across as being very over-bearing and suffocating almost, but it's only because he cares. He was a very angry teenager and tended to lash out a lot (verbally or physically) as his was his way of dealing with the grief of their parents dying. Now he's just plain annoying.

**Family**: Grandparents: George (76), Mary (75). Parents: John (39 - deceased), Rachel (38 - deceased). Siblings: Charlie (32), Scott (27), Chris (22).

**Relationship status**: Free and single (as he would put it)

**Previous relationships**: Nothing of significant mentioning. One-night stands are about it.

**Special talents**: He can fit his whole fist in his mouth

**

* * *

Name**: Scott Braden Perry

**Age**: 27

**Occupation**: Music teacher

**Eyes**: Dark blue

**Hair**: Dark brown

**General appearance**: Shorter than Mark and Charlie but taller than Chris at 6'1. Not very muscular. Looked a bit nerdy when he was a kid.

**Personality**: The most quiet out of the three older brothers, but not as quiet as Chris is now. He is a very calm person and the one most likely to keep a level head in stressful situations. He played, and still does at times, the mediator when there were arguments between his brothers, especially between Chris and Mark who tended to argue very frequently. He has a passion for music and listened to classical compositions when he was a child. He now teaches music at a local elementary school. When he was younger he used to feel like he didn't quite fit in to the family, because of how different he was compared to his brothers.

**Family**: Grandparents: George (76), Mary (75). Parents: John (39 - deceased), Rachel (38 - deceased). Siblings: Charlie (32), Mark (29), Chris (22).

**Relationship status**: Seeing someone (Anna Clark, another teacher at the school)

**Previous relationships**: Sarah Bridge

**Special talents**: Can play three instruments (the guitar, piano and the clarinet) and he can write music.

**

* * *

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS**

**Name**: George Perry

**Age**: 76

**Occupation**: Retired

**Eyes**: Green

**Hair**: Grey

**Some info: **George lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife Mary. He's lived in the area since he was four years old, when he moved with his parents and brother from Ohio. He met Mary when he was 16 years old, they married when he was 20 and they had their first child, John, when he was 21. He lives an active lifestyle despite his age and loves working in his garden. When his son and daughter-in-law died, he and his wife gained custody of their four grandchildren. George cares about his family deeply and worries sometimes about their welfare, which is natural. He feels bitterness towards the legal system, because of past events.

**

* * *

Name**: Mary Perry

**Age**: 75

**Occupation**: Retired

**Eyes**: Blue

**Hair**: Grey

**Some info: **Mary is the typical sweet, old lady. She was born in Boston and lived there until she was 12 and her parents moved to Brooklyn. She has one younger sister, Linda, who moved to Seattle when she was 25 years old, at which point Mary had already married George and they had three children. Mary always wanted a large family, but she was unable to have anymore children after the birth of her youngest child had some complications. So she was ecstatic when her eldest grandchild Charlie was born and she had another baby to dote over. It was Mary that told George she wanted them to take in Charlie and his brothers when their parents died, and he readily agreed. The death of her son hit her extremely hard, but she hid it well for the sake of her grandchildren. There's a bench sitting underneath a tree in their garden that she used to sit on and have a cry when she had time to herself. Now with her grandchildren grown up, she's settling down for a quiet life with her husband.

**

* * *

Name**: Carla Marshall

**Age**: 24

**Occupation**: Manager of a designer clothes store

**Eyes**: Powder blue

**Hair**: Blonde

**Some info: **Carla is very confident and sassy. She met Wyatt Halliwell in high school but because he was already dating someone else, they didn't get together until after school when they bumped into each other in a store. She was ecstatic when he proposed on the anniversary of them becoming a couple, and immediately said yes. She comes across as being horribly nasty and close minded at times, but her parents are really the ones to blame for her views. Despite her obvious faults, she does care about people and loves Wyatt a lot. She can't wait until the wedding where they'll finally be able to say "I do".

**

* * *

Name**: Andrew "Andy" Davis

**Age**: 24

**Occupation**: Waiter at "Charmed"

**Eyes**: Violet-blue

**Hair**: Black, with pink tips

**Some info: **With a very care-free personality, Andy doesn't give a toss about what other people think of him. He comes as a shock to the majority of folk, but he regularly says it's because they can't handle how unique he is. Which is one way of putting things. He never really got on with is father, who had never been able to accept his homosexuality, and moved out of the family home when he was 16 to go live with his aunt. He moved in to the apartment complex when he was 22, already friends with Wyatt and Tony from knowing them at school. He loves partying and is normally the one that convinces everyone else to go clubbing and have some fun. He has good sense of humour, but can be very dirty minded at times. Andy is single but is on the look out for a new boyfriend. He is currently trying to stop smoking.

**

* * *

Name**: Tony Walker

**Age**: 25

**Occupation**: Waiter at "Charmed"

**Eyes**: Amber

**Hair**: Brown, but it's shaved

**Some info: **Tony is one of those guys that looks intimidating, but actually wouldn't hurt anyone unless he had a good reason to. His size made him a great asset to the school football team when he was in high school and he's maintained his interest in the game ever since. He's had quite a few girlfriends in the past and despite being bisexual, he's never had a boyfriend. He moved into the apartment complex when he was 22 and Wyatt and Carla moved in six months after him. He loves having a laugh with his friends, as do most people, and is quite content with having fun before he decides to settle down and whatnot.

**

* * *

Name**: Kacey Mitchell

**Age**: 24

**Occupation**: Cashier at a DVD rental store

**Eyes**: Blue

**Hair**: Black

**Some info: **Kacey never really fitted in at high school, opting for the goth look. She was a loner, and liked it that way as she didn't really like any of the people in her school anyway. School work was never that big a deal to her but she did try to study for exams. Her parents were shocked when, at the age of 16, she told them she was a lesbian. They took it a lot better than Andy's father did, and she stayed at her family home until she was 21. It was then she moved in to the apartment complex were she met her now best friends, after which she lived an unusually social lifestyle by her standards.

**

* * *

Name**: Lisa Moore

**Age**: 24

**Occupation**: School Counsellor

**Eyes**: Brown

**Hair**: Red

**Some info: **Growing up as an only child, Lisa was quite shy around other children when she started school. She flowed through high school as someone in the background, not really belonging to any particular group, with only a few friends. When she reached adulthood she came out of her shell a lot more, and became great friends with the others in the apartment complex. Very family based, Lisa visits her parents whenever she has the chance and really looks forward to holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. She loves her work as she is able to work with children and looks forward to it everyday.

**

* * *

Name**: Rebecca Adams

**Age**: 23

**Occupation**: Nail technician

**Eyes**: Blue

**Hair**: Chocolate brown

**Some info: **Rebecca was the typical popular girl in high school. She made it as head cheerleader and loved her school years, despite not getting very good grades in her subjects. She's very good-looking, but tends to be quite shallow when it comes to relationships. Her current friends are unusual choices for her, but she's happy being with them. Tony likes to make fun of her diva-ish attitude, but their other friends sometimes like to tease that they "like" each other. She is very boy crazy and is unlikely to be the settling down and get married type. She loves to party and enjoys her work as a nail technician, though she would like to learn other treatments, like massage and hairdressing.

Review, if you want. It would be appreciated HUGELY if you did of course!


	8. Chapter 7

Um, yeah, hi... -clears throat- Uh, well I know I said I was going to try and make sure this didn't take too long to get to you but, well...it was a PAIN IN THE ASS! Seriously, this is the hardest chapter of this story I've written yet! And it doesn't even have that much going on in it! -sigh- All I can do is apologise for the shamelessly long wait and I think I can say with some confidence that the next chapter won't take this long.

On the note of updates, which should I update first; This or MTWMTE? Tell me in your review! There's also a poll on my profile if anyone's interested.

And this time my big thanks goes to all of you! After all, where would I be without the wonderful reviewers of my stories? Even when I take inexcusably long in updating, you STILL don't try to murder me through cyber space, for which I'm grateful.

And now on with the chapter!

* * *

The house, 2020, age 15 

_When Saturday morning came around, Chris doubted he'd ever been more nervous in his entire life. Even his first day in his new school after coming to live with his grandparents when he was seven didn't compare to this, and that day hadn't been the best. Being the new kid never was and having all those kids looking at him without having anyone to talk to... He'd spent the day clinging on to Scott when he could, despite his older brother's grumpy protests. After all, he was a new kid too and having his kid brother clutching on to his arm was seriously un-cool. Not like it made much of a difference; Scott was never that popular anyway._

_Today however made his stomach churn exactly like it had that day. Today was his date with Daegan and he'd been up since seven this morning trying to figure out what to wear, despite the fact Daegan wouldn't be picking him up until twelve. Now he stood in front of the bathroom mirror at half past eleven, running a comb through his chocolate brown hair. He swallowed nervously, his hands starting to shake, and decided to brush his teeth one more time._

_After swishing cool water through his mouth, he spat it out into the sink and looked at himself in the mirror again. Running a hand through his hair, he let out a shaky, nervous breath and decided to go change his outfit one last time before the doorbell rang._

_Once he finally felt satisfied enough about his appearance, he smoothed out his clothes and picked up his cell phone in case any of his family needed to contact him when he was out. Part of him hoped that someone WOULD call during the date, giving him an excuse to leave, but that was just the nerves talking._

_With a sudden jolt, Chris heard the knock on the front door. No doubt it was Daegan, and Chris bolted out of the room. He needed to answer the door before any of his brothers did if he wanted to avoid any embarrassing moments._

_On the way down the stairs, he smacked slap bang into Mark who was on his way up. Mark stumbled back down the few steps he'd just climbed and looked at his younger brother in offence._

"_Watch where you're going will ya?" he grumbled, rubbing his shoulder._

"_Sorry." Chris said off handily as he sidled past him. This was particularly unusual and was he first thing that sparked Mark's suspicious nature. Chris would never normally say "Sorry" in that kind of situation, instead opting to snap back with some sarcastic remark, which meant now he wanted Mark out the way, which also meant Mark wanted to know why._

"_What's your hurry?" Mark called after him._

"_Going out." Chris called back as he hurried to the door, deciding not to say anything else about the matter._

_He stopped in front of the front door and took a moment to compose himself. Then with his stomach churning uncomfortably, Chris grasped the handle and pulled it open. His stomach did a back flip when he saw Daegan leaning casually against the door frame. Daegan smiled at him and Chris couldn't stop the one that crept on to his mouth in response._

* * *

"_So I figured we'd go for something to eat. That okay?" Daegan asked him as Chris clipped in his seatbelt. Daegan had a nice car; a black Honda. He turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared into life._

"_Sounds good." Chris replied shyly, glancing at his date. Daegan nodded and pushed his foot down on the accelerator so that the car drove off, leaving Chris's street behind them. The radio was on, playing a very old Nickelback song which Daegan sung to under his breath. Chris shifted in his seat and looked out the window, chewing his bottom lip. He watched the buildings speed past, and the people. So immersed in watching his surroundings flash by, Chris jumped when he heard Daegan speaking to him._

"_You look great." he said and Chris blushed at the comment, giving a soft "Thanks" in response. He turned his head and looked out the window again, still biting his bottom lip. He missed Daegan's amused smile at his reaction._

"_You don't need to feel nervous. I'm a nice guy." Daegan said, some non expressed laughter present in his voice, and Chris looked at him, embarrassed. Was he that bloody transparent?_

"_I know. Sorry, it's just..." Chris trailed off, not really knowing the right words to describe how he was feeling._

"_Is it because I'm six years older than you?" Daegan asked._

"_Well...maybe." Chris said slowly. "But it's a good thing really." he quickly added. "You're not an immature idiot like the other guys I've dated."_

_Daegan smiled, not taking his eyes off the road. "That's a good thing I guess. Not had much luck with relationships then?"_

"_More like I tend to pick the wrong guys." Chris explained. It was true. He normally didn't have the best judgement when it came to dating. Maybe he was too young to be able to tell, he didn't know._

"_Well, what about me?" Daegan asked._

_Chris glanced at him, suppressing the urge to smile. "I'm still waiting to decide." he said coyly and Daegan smiled once more._

"_Well hopefully I'll make a good impression." he said._

"_Yeah, hopefully." Chris agreed lightly, going back to looking at the window. And he really did hope so..._

_

* * *

They arrived at a small Italian restaurant, with Chris feeling a bit less shy than he had originally been. After Daegan parked the car, he got out and opened the door for Chris before he even had the chance to touch the handle._

"_Thanks." Chris said, climbing out. The gesture surprised him, having never been treated like that before, but he said nothing._

_He followed Daegan across the parking lot and they entered through the main entrance to the restaurant. Said restaurant was buzzing with conversation and almost all of the tables were full. Chris gazed around the cozy dining area and smiled slightly. He'd only ever been in a restaurant like this for special occasions, like his brothers' eighteenth and twenty-first birthdays. His grandparents hadn't been, and still weren't, able to afford to eat out in a proper sit down restaurant just on a whim. Suddenly having to clothe, feed and house four growing boys had been a bit of a strain on the bank balance, but they'd done it without complaining._

_They were led to a table that sat in a corner of the restaurant and handed menus as they sat down._

"_Have whatever you want. I just got paid." Daegan said to him as the waitress walked away._

"_What do you do?" Chris asked as he scanned the various options on the menu. Despite what Daegan had just said, he looked at the things that were the least expensive, out of habit._

"_My uncle has his own business, and he gave me a job when I was low on cash. Been there ever since." Daegan grinned, setting down his own menu on the table. Chris decided on spaghetti bolognaise and put down his menu too._

_The waitress came back over and they ordered their food and drinks. She jotted it down on her little notepad, gave them a small smile and walked off to the kitchen to give the orders._

"_So what do you want to do when you leave school?" Daegan asked, leaning back in his chair and watching the brunette across the table._

_Chris shrugged indifferently, beginning to pick bits off the red napkin he'd been provided with. The little pieces landed on the table, starting to make a small pile. _

"_I dunno. I've not really thought about it," he then grinned. "My brother Mark said I could do temp jobs with him."_

"_You have a brother?"_

_Chris nodded. "Three actually. They're all older than me. It sucks being the youngest..."_

_Daegan chuckled before Chris asked; "So do you have any brothers or sisters?"_

"_I have a younger brother but we don't see each other that much. We were never that close. What about you and your brothers?"_

"_I guess we're pretty close," Chris said with a shrug. "I always argue with Mark though. He's such a pain in the ass...Which is why it's scary that I share the same DNA."_

_Daegan chuckled again. "I know the feeling. Me and my brother are complete opposites, which is probably why we didn't like each other much. He was such a wimp when he was a kid."_

_Chris smiled slightly. "Where is he now?"_

"_Manhattan, I think. He went to law school and is practising over there." Daegan said. He picked up the beer the waitress had just put down on the table and took a gulp of the bitter liquid._

"_I used to live in Manhattan."_

_Daegan put the bottle back down. "Yeah?"_

"_Yep," Chris said with a nod. "We lived there until I was seven, then our parents died and we moved here to live with our grandparents."_

"_Oh, I'm sorry..."Daegan said, looking sympathetic._

"_No, it's okay," Chris insisted, hoping he hadn't made Daegan feel uncomfortable. "It was eight years ago."_

"_How did it happen?" Daegan asked. "If you don't mind me asking." he quickly added._

"_A house fire," Chris said. "They were still sleeping when they died, so that's a good thing I guess..." he looked down at the napkin he was still picking at._

"_Must be tough." Daegan said, and Chris nodded._

_Then he looked up at Daegan and gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make things all morbid. Why don't we talk about something else?"_

_Daegan just gave him a small smile back. Chris tilted his head to the side slightly._

"_What?" he asked._

_Daegan shrugged and shook his head. "Nothing. You're just..."_

"_Just what?"_

"_Sweet." Was all Daegan said, and Chris raised his eyebrows._

"_Sweet?" he repeated. _

_Daegan just shrugged and grinned at him, his eyes twinkling. _

_

* * *

When the car pulled up next to the house, Chris had to suppress a groan. He knew what was coming when he stepped through the door, and that was a deep interrogation from Mark, who was insufferably bad at keeping his nose out of other people's business. Chris had used to think that striving to know everything about everyone was only reserved for gossipy old ladies, but he'd realised a long time ago from living with Mark that he was mistaken._

_Daegan must have noticed the look on his face, because he frowned slightly, asking, "What's wrong?"_

_Chris sighed softly and shook his head. "Nothing," he replied, and he gave Daegan a smile to prove the point._

"_Did you have a good time?" Daegan asked._

"_Yeah, it was great." Chris nodded._

"_Does that mean you'll say yes if I ask you out again?" Daegan asked with a grin, and Chris smiled shyly._

"_Maybe." he said coyly, and Daegan chuckled lightly._

"_Well, how about if I asked if I could kiss you goodbye?" he then asked._

_Chris, taken back, blinked and swallowed the sudden lump that had appeared in his throat._

"_Ok." he squeaked nervously, his cheeks going pink._

_Daegan smiled once more, before leaning forward, putting his had softly on the side of Chris's face and pressing his mouth against his. Chris closed his eyes when Daegan deepened the kiss, melting into it. It was just like he'd imagined, if not better, and he felt the burn of disappointment when they finally pulled away. _

_His cheeks still burning, he cleared his throat and gave Daegan a smile. "Um, well I better get going. They'll be wondering where I am."_

_Daegan nodded. "Ok. I'll call you later."_

_Chris smiled and nodded, before opening the car door and stepping out. He closed the door and turned around to return the small wave Daegan had just given him, before he put the car into gear and drove off. Chris watched the vehicle disappear out of view and as he turned around to walk up the path towards the house, a wide grin spread across his face. He couldn't wait to see him again..._

* * *

"_So where've you been?" were the curious words that met Chris as he stepped into the kitchen. He looked over at his brother Mark, who had been trying his best to make the sentence sound casual._

"_Have you been waiting for me?" Chris asked incredulously, walking past Mark to get the carton of milk out of the fridge._

"_No!" Mark protested, sounding offended. "I only got here 15 minutes ago."_

"_Awww, you're stomach grumbling?" Chris asked mockingly, before taking a large swig from the milk carton._

"_Grandma will kill you if she finds out." Mark commented, ignoring his little brother's previous comment._

"_Only if some snitch tells her." Chris replied with a shrug, putting the milk back in the fridge._

"_So where've you been?" Mark asked again._

"_Why so interested?" Chris asked instead of answering._

"_Why so secretive?"_

"_Why so nosy?"_

"_Why so insufferably annoying?"_

_Chris grinned. "I caught it from you."_

_Mark rolled his eyes. "Just tell me will you!"_

"_I was out with a friend, if you must know." Chris said. He leant against the bunker and folded his arms loosely across his chest._

"_What friend?" Mark asked, trying to remember Chris's friends. It proved harder than he thought and all the blurred faces just mushed together in his head and he couldn't even remember one name._

"_No-one you know."_

"_Of course," Mark muttered, frustrated. He looked at his younger brother and narrowed his eyes calculatingly. "Was it a date?..."_

"_No!" Chris protested quickly. Too quickly._

_Mark grinned and laughed. "Ha, so I'm right!"_

"_No you're not," Chris argued half-heartedly, knowing he'd already lost._

"_Awww, Chrissy had a date," Mark said in a cooing voice. Chris glowered as he grinned, pinching his cheek on the way to the fridge._

"_At least I get dates." Chris grumbled, turning around and glaring at the back of Mark's big head. _

"_You wouldn't know a real date if it hit you in the face." Mark said, amused as he then popped a grape into his mouth._

"_It was a real date!"_

"_Oh yeah? Where'd you go?"_

"_An Italian restaurant downtown." Chris said, pleased with himself. He doubted Mark would able to put that down._

_Mark however snorted at this. "Some teeny bopper took you to an Italian restaurant?"_

"_He's not a teeny bopper! He's..." Chris trailed off, pressing his lips together. His brother would go ballistic if he found out how old Daegan was and Chris knew it._

"_He's what?" Mark asked, popping another grape in his mouth._

"_Nothing." Chris muttered. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, which had just buzzed against his leg. He looked at the screen and smiled, seeing a message from Daegan waiting unopened._

_He was just about the press the button to open it when his phone was rudely snatched from his hands by Mark._

"_Mark! Give it back!" Chris demanded loudly, trying to grab it, but being so tall, Mark held it high above his head with ease._

"_Aww, lover boy's sent a little text." Mark teased, trying to press the right button to open it as Chris pulled at him, trying to reach the cell phone._

_Chris, realising he was getting nowhere with trying to jump and grab it, decided he needed a different tactic. So he kicked him hard on the shin._

_Mark cursed loudly and the cell phone dropped from his hand, clattering on to the floor and skidding underneath one of the counters._

"_Mark!" Chris snapped, but as he went to go over to retrieve the inevitably broken cell phone, Mark grabbed him around the neck and proceeded to give him a noogie._

"_Agh!" Chris yelped, trying to struggle out of Mark's strong grip. He elbowed him in the stomach but it didn't seem to have much effect._

"_What's going on here?"_

_The brothers froze in their position, both looking to the doorway where their grandmother was standing with one hand on her hip and a bag of groceries in the other._

"_Release your brother Mark." she continued to say calmly, walking past her grandsons to put the groceries away._

_Mark reluctantly did so, but gave Chris a little shove in the process. Chris shoved him back then went over to the counter that his phone was currently lying under. He got down on to his hands and knees and peered underneath it into darkness._

"_I can't see it." he grumbled, and reluctantly reached his arm under. It wasn't pleasant, feeling about with no idea what was under there. There could be spiders and all sorts and he had to endure all because of his stupid brother._

_Finally his hand closed around something hard and smooth, and he brought it out, pleased to be reunited with his precious cell phone again. He sent a silent prayer as he tried to turn it on and a wide grin spread across his face as the familiar home screen flickered to life._

"_See? Drama over nothing." Mark said and he grinned, sidling out of the kitchen as Chris shot daggers at him._

_

* * *

Chris sat down heavily on his bed, happy to be finally away from his family, more specifically Mark. He'd been teasing him all evening and the constant jokes had been grating on Chris's nerves. But finally he was free, with nice peace and quiet..._

_Chris fell on to his back and took his cell phone out of his pocket. He realised he hadn't checked the text message Daegan had sent him earlier and hurriedly opened it._

_**Hey Chris**_

_**Had a good time today, can't wait to see you again. How bout next Friday?**_

_**Daegan**_

_Chris smiled, butterflies starting to flutter about in his stomach. He bit his bottom lip softly and quickly text back._

_**I had a good time too. Friday sounds good.**_

_He waited for a moment, then his phone buzzed again with a new message from Daegan._

_**Great I'll pick you up at 7pm.**_

_Chris smiled again and put his cell phone on his bedside table. Four days till Friday. He didn't know if he'd be able to wait that long..._

_

* * *

_

So there you go! Please review, even though this wasn't the most exciting chapter in the world. The next chapter will have more drama to sink your teeth into -wink-


	9. Chapter 8

Hey everybody! Sorry AGAIN for the long wait...I'm just terrible at updating ain't I? I hope this chapter makes up for it though...a lot of drama and it's 16 pages long! Woot woot!

Anyway, big huge thanks as always to you beautiful and wonderfully wonderful people that review this story..Really makes my day to read your thoughts! Oh and I have two dedications this time! My usual to LLC for just being great lol, and the other to AngelofMusic18 because she's the one that motivated me to update today, so ya'll can thank her, and also because I've enjoyed talking to her! Thanks for keeping me sane during my day off school girl! (ILL may I add peoples! Can you SEE my dedication to you all?) As a reward I'll let you keep JP and JA first, once we figure out that abduction plan...-evil grin-

**OOOH!!** I nearly forgot! I've got a REALLY important question for you all that I would love if you could answer in your reviews: How is everyone feeling about Daegan's age? The reason I ask is, I was looking over old notes and I saw that I'd originally wrote down that he was going to be 19...I have NO idea why I changed it, and there's a few scenes in my head that sound better with him younger. But I wanted to see what you guys thought. Are you happy with his age, or is it just a BIT too creepy? Be totally honest! I need to know if I should change it or not...It'd be a lot easier for me to change it now than later (less chapters to fix), so please let me know.

And after all that, let's get on with the fic!

* * *

Wyatt sighed irritably and cursed under his breath as he tried to fix his tie. He'd never been able to do up a tie properly, and until he'd moved out of his childhood home, he'd always relied on his mom to do it. He'd be seeing his mom in just over an hour and he didn't think he'd ever dreaded a visit to the manor more.

Stupid dinner. Stupid future parents-in-law.

Wyatt glanced at Carla who sat at her dressing table, looking in the mirror as she applied pearl pink lipstick to her lips. He grumbled to himself, still fiddling with his tie. There'd never been an occasion that he'd had to wear a tie for dinner at the manor, except for special occasions like wedding anniversaries or something alike. He didn't get how Carla's parents planting their stuck up bottoms at the family dinner table counted as a special occasion...

"Are you okay honey?" Carla asked, looking at him in the mirror. She picked up a fancy perfume bottle and spritzed herself with the sweet scent.

"Yeah," Wyatt replied, keeping his voice light and forcing himself to smile. "Yeah I'm good."

"I'm looking forward to this dinner you know," Carla said as she picked up her mascara and added the finishing touches to her eyelashes. "It'll give our parents' the chance to talk and get to know each other better before the wedding."

"Yeah, it'll be great..." Wyatt agreed, unconvincingly in his opinion but Carla didn't seem to notice. She smiled at him in the mirror then fiddled with her hair slightly before standing up. She was dressed like it was a special occasion too, in a floaty black dress that was synched at the waist with a black belt, and her blonde hair put up, with little strands framing her face. She swept over to him, her high heels clacking on the wooden floor of their bedroom (Wyatt had wanted a carpet, but had lost that argument) and started helping him with his tie.

"What are you going to do at the wedding when I can't help you with this?" she smiled, finishing tying the knot and straightening it out.

"I'll get one of my best men to do it." Wyatt replied and he smiled back at her.

He'd decided that choosing just one of his two male friends to be his best man would be too a difficult decision, added to the fact that he didn't want to put a rift in the friendship circle, so he'd pestered Carla with the point that if she was having four bridesmaids AND a Matron of Honour, then he should be allowed to have two of his best friends beside him too. She eventually agreed, even though she would have preferred if Wyatt's friends had only turned up at the reception...where it was dark...

Carla finished fixing the tie and patted his chest lightly before picking up his jacket off the bed and handing it to him.

"You ready?" she asked and Wyatt nodded. He'd have been ready half an hour ago if it hadn't been for that stupid tie.

"Good." said Carla. She took a step back and did a small turn. "How do I look?"

"Great," Wyatt replied. "Fantastic, amazing, marvellous." he elaborated at Carla's raised eyebrows. "Any other adjectives you'd like me to use?" he grinned.

Carla shook her head at him with a hint of a smile on her lips as she slipped on her jacket.

"Let's go, we don't want to be late." she said, slipping her arm through Wyatt's as he grabbed his cell phone of the chest of drawers.

They left the apartment and Carla turned around to lock the door. Wyatt stuffed his hands in his pockets, sighing again at the thought of the stress tonight was going to bring. He lifted his head from looking at his shoes when he heard a familiar voice filtering up the stairs and sure enough, not two seconds later Chris finished climbing the stairs and came on to the landing. He was holding a cell phone to his ear, deep in conversation.

"I _know_ Mark! Quit lecturing me..." a pause. "Yes you do!" Was what Wyatt caught from it. Chris noticed him and smiled, giving him a wave with his free hand as he walked over to his apartment. Wyatt gave a small wave back, his cheeks tinging involuntarily pink. Thankfully it wasn't noticeable.

Carla finished locking the door and merely glanced Chris's direction, who had just pushed down the handle of his door with his free hand and kicked it open, before smiling at her fiancée and slipping her hand through the crook of his arm. Wyatt just managed to give her some reaction in return, but his mind was elsewhere as they started walking down the stairs.

Stupid feelings. Just seeing Chris made him feel embarrassed about what he'd been thinking a few nights ago in Chris's apartment. Surely someone that's getting married shouldn't be thinking about snogging someone else...

Before he knew it they'd left the apartment complex and were getting into their car, heading towards the dinner from hell.

* * *

"_So the new job is going alright?_"

"Yep. As long as it keeps paying the bills then it's going great." Chris quipped dryly, stirring the noodles in the pot with one hand and holding the cell phone to his ear with the other.

"_Well it sounds like you're really enjoying it._" Mark replied sarcastically.

"At least I have a job." Chris snipped lightly, tapping the wooden spoon on the side of the pot.

"_Oi, mouth._ _I'll have you know that my temp jobs ARE jobs." _Mark argued.

Chris smiled. "Okay, okay, I'm sure they're very fulfilling."

"_I'm sure I'm benefiting someone, I think..." _Mark trailed off for a moment, then quickly changed the subject. _"So is the apartment all sorted out now?"_

"Nothing much to sort out. I'm not exactly living in a lap of luxury." Chris remarked, looking around his rather bare kitchenette.

"_You know, it's not luxurious here or anything but I'm sure it's better than that scabby flat..."_

"Shut up. I'll have you know that it's actually nicely decorated," Chris said, eyeing a spot of peeling paint in one corner. "And once I earn more money, I'll be able to buy more things."

"_Like an extra bed for me to sleep in?" _

Chris smiled. "I think not."

"_Fine, I'll bring my sleeping bag."_

"And where would you get the money for the journey over here, AND the journey back?" Chris asked, struggling over to the sink with the steaming hot pot of noodles. He poured them into a large sieve, letting the water drain away.

"_I'll get a loan off Charlie. He's loaded."_ Mark said.

"Yeah, and that's why he's still living with you." Chris grinned.

"_And what's wrong with living with me?" _Mark asked, his tone playfully demanding.

"Don't get me started. I'll be here all day and I have much more important things to do." Chris remarked lightly.

"_Whatever pipsqueak." said Mark. _

Chris just grinned and lifted the sieve from the sink so he could put the noodles in a bowl.

"_So I'll speak to you tomorrow?"_

"As always." Chris said.

"_Of course," _Chris could imagine him smiling. _"See you."_

"Bye." Chris said and the line cut off, the dialling tone suddenly sounding in his ear. He sighed and placed the phone on the counter so he could finish fixing his dinner. If you could call it that. The new job didn't bring in as much money as he would have liked so he had to cut back on a few things, food being one of the easiest options considering...

Chris opened the cutlery drawer, grabbed a fork and walked through to the living room with the bowl of noodles in the other hand so he could sit down.

* * *

As soon as Wyatt pushed down the door handle of the main entrance to the manor, he wished he could turn around and run, fast, in the opposite direction. How fun it would be to endure the company of Carla's awful parents for a whole evening...

Carla seemed oblivious to his obvious discomfort as she waltzed in after the door had been opened, a bright smile on her face. Wyatt just sighed, following her, and hung his jacket on the hook near the now closed door.

"We're here." he called half-heartedly and there was a small clatter of some kitchen utensils being set down and the sound of heels clip clopping through to meet them.

They were soon greeted with the comforting appearance of his mother and he smiled, hugging her tightly as she said hello to them both. He wished he could somehow project his dread through the hug, but his mom seemed as oblivious as Carla had been and merely patted his back warmly and moved on to his fiancée.

"Oh you look beautiful sweetheart." she gushed, giving Carla a small hug and a warm smile.

"Thanks, so do you." Carla smiled in return.

"Yes it's amazing what anti-wrinkle cream can do nowadays." Piper joked.

Wyatt stopped paying attention at this point, looking past the two women to see if Carla's parents were already there. The living room was empty and he inwardly sighed with relief. Hopefully they wouldn't turn up until the dinner was ready so he wouldn't be forced to try and make some form of small talk.

"Where's dad?" he asked all of a sudden, trying to take his mind off his impending doom.

"What?" Piper asked, and Wyatt realised he must have interrupted her mid-sentence.

"Uh, dad?"

"Oh, he'll be about 15 minutes. I sent him out for vanilla ice cream to go with the dessert." Piper replied.

She checked her watch. "OK, the casserole will be another 10 minutes so I just need to mash the potatoes and that'll be it. Why don't you two take a seat in the living room; you can answer the door for me."

"Oh brilliant." Wyatt muttered under his breath and Carla agreed with the plan and steered him towards the sofa in the living room.

Sure enough Leo was back within the 15 minutes Piper had allocated, looking slightly out of breath with a tub of vanilla ice-cream in a bag in one hand.

"Hey you two." he said to Wyatt and Carla as he came through the front door.

"Hey dad." Wyatt smiled in relief, thankful to see his dad back in the house. He needed as many people on his side there as possible.

"Your mother in the kitchen?" Leo said, asking a very obvious question. After all, where else would Piper be?

Wyatt nodded and Leo smiled at the couple before making his way through to the kitchen to give his wife the starting to melt ice-cream.

Wyatt sat back down heavily on the sofa, wringing his hands together. The longer it took for Carla's parents to arrive, the more nervous he got. A part of him, a big part actually, hoped they wouldn't turn up at all but he knew that was unlikely to be true. Carla had daddy wrapped around her little finger.

* * *

It didn't take long for them to show up. In fact, it could only have been 10 minutes after Leo had arrived with the ice cream when the doorbell rang, signalling their arrival. Both Wyatt and Carla stood up, Wyatt more slowly than his fiancée of course, and he deliberately let her go first to the door.

They greeted their daughter warmly, Carla's mother, Brenda, putting down her handbag to pull her daughter into an embrace. Carla's father, Robert, did the same thing and then his eyes landed on Wyatt, standing with his hands stuffed in his pockets wishing he was anywhere but here.

"Wyatt." Robert said stiffly, in his own little stuck up way of hello. Wyatt tried his best to smile and nod back, but as soon as Robert turned away from him the smile slipped from his face.

Piper and Leo must of heard them arriving because they came walking through from the kitchen barely five seconds after Wyatt forced himself to welcome Brenda. They had those forced, pretend-happy smiles on their faces that Wyatt had seen once or twice before, and he felt a pang of guilt realising that they were only doing this dinner for him. And he didn't even want to be there.

"Robert, Brenda, we're really glad you could make it." Piper said cheerfully, wiping her hands on her apron.

"Well, anything for our little girl." Robert replied, one hand on Carla's shoulder. He still hadn't taken his coat off and Leo noticed, holding out his hands.

"Here, let me take your jackets." he said.

Robert hesitated a moment and Wyatt felt a flare if indignance. What did he think his dad was going to do? Have a peek in his pockets?

However, Robert had already handed over their coats before Wyatt could get even more annoyed. At this point Piper and started to steer them over to the table where she'd set out her best china plates and silverware. Wyatt suppressed a roll of his eyes.

"Alright everyone, sit down! Dinner's just about ready."

And with a swish of her thick, brown hair she was walking hurriedly back into the kitchen to serve the dinner, leaving Wyatt with one less friendly face for the time being.

* * *

Chris was bored. Really bored. He sat on his sofa, feet propped up on the coffee table and head leant right back, staring up at the off white ceiling. If he stared long enough, coloured dots would start popping in front of his eyes making him blink rapidly and bring up a hand up to rub them. He sighed lifting his head and looked straight ahead instead. If he had enough money, he would buy a TV and put it _right_ there. Of course, if he had enough money he wouldn't be living in such a dump of an apartment. His brothers had tried to give him money, but he had refused saying he wanted to do things by himself. Before he left New York, he'd caught Mark trying to slip money into his suitcase and had taken it out, placing it back in his brother's hands and insisting strongly that he didn't need any financial help. He was going to get his own money, the proper way.

Now part of him wished he hadn't been so hasty to refuse.

Chris decided that maybe taking a walk would cure his boredom. And it would pass the time, an hour if he took a long route. Many would say taking a stroll at night in a still strange and new city was a pretty stupid thing to do, but Chris didn't really care at the moment.

After he'd locked the door he took his time walking down the many flights of stairs, mainly because this too would pass time but also because he'd already fallen down these damn stairs twice. And this time he knew Wyatt wouldn't be there to stop his fall if he were to topple over. Chris vaguely remembered Wyatt telling him he was going to a dinner or something, and he also remembered that he hadn't looked very happy about it.

It was when he reached the last flight of stairs that he saw Tony who was just climbing up them. Tony saw him and grinned.

"Finally, a friendly face." he said as they stopped next to each other.

"Where's everyone else?" Chris asked giving his friend a smile back.

"Working." Tony grumbled. "And Wyatt has that stupid dinner with Carla's parents. He mention it?"

"Yeah, he said something about it yesterday."

"Well anyway, being the loser I am I'm just wandering about aimlessly, bored outta my mind." Tony sighed dramatically.

Chris grinned. "Same here. Does that make me a loser too?"

"Basically, yeah. But we could be losers together and go get a drink at P3 if you want." Tony suggested, grinning back at him.

Chris raised his eyebrows. "A drink? You guys are gonna turn me into an alcoholic!"

"Aw come on. Just because those retards decided to work, or go to dinner with parent-in-laws from hell, doesn't mean we have to suffer!"

Chris hesitated for a moment, but then his shoulders sagged as he gave in.

"Alright fine." he said with a grin. "But only one drink then I'm on water!" he added as a warning.

Tony chuckled. "Yeah we'll see."

* * *

There was no denying that Wyatt desperately wished he was somewhere else, especially now. He'd tried to psyche himself up for it as they sat down to eat but he still wasn't feeling the joy. So far it hadn't been TOO bad, but the atmosphere was slightly tense and at times, a few times actually, there were long awkward silences. Every time one of those silences came along Wyatt would shove larger fork fulls of food into his mouth, hoping that if he ate faster then this awful experience would be over sooner. This was also when Piper would try her best to spark conversation, only to fail miserably.

Once the main course was finished, Wyatt stood up to help his mom with the dishes. She smiled at his gesture of kindness but really, it was for his own selfish reasons. Any chance to get out of that room and he jumped at it.

"So, enjoying yourself?" Wyatt asked lightly once they were in the safety of the kitchen, stacking the plates near the sink.

Piper smiled knowingly at him and nodded. "Yes, of course. Aren't you?"

Wyatt snorted. "Yeah right. A morgue has more life than this."

Piper chuckled gently, smiling at her son as she took the glasses he had in his hands off him. "Come on, it's not that bad. It's only one night."

"Oh mom, you have _no _idea." Wyatt groaned. "I'm gonna have to put up with them until they kick the bucket! God I can't wait..."

"Wyatt," Piper scolded. "That's not a very nice thing to say."

"Believe me, after another few dinners with them and you'll feel exactly the same." Wyatt replied without a beat.

They both turned their heads towards the door as Leo walked in, sighing and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Leo! What are you doing in here?" Piper asked.

Leo stopped in his tracks. "Huh?"

"You're meant to be entertaining our guests as I'm getting the dessert." Piper explained sternly.

Leo stared at her. "You're kidding, right?"

Wyatt bit back a laugh as he uncorked another bottle of wine and started pouring it into wine glasses. "A joy, aren't they?" he quipped.

"Fabulous." Leo replied in a flat tone, then dodged out of the way as Piper swatted at him with a dish towel.

"Get back in there!" she ordered, then she looked at Wyatt. "And you too!"

"But I need to help you with-

"I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself." Piper smiled and began pushing them towards the door.

"Alright, alright, we're going." Wyatt grumbled and he walked back into the dining room to return the glasses of wine.

* * *

"Alright, you ready?"

"Uh..." Chris stalled nervously, eyeing the array of drinks in front of them. He raised an eyebrow at Tony as if to say "Are you kidding me?".

Tony grinned. "Come on, you call yourself a 22 year old?"

Chris stuck his tongue out at him and crossed his arms on the bar. Tony chuckled at him and gave him a little nudge.

"Ok need me to go over it again?"

"Fine..."

"Alright, first of all you chug down the beer," he held up one of the glass bottles. "Then you down the shots," he pointed to the three shots of vodka in front of Chris. "Then you finish of with the deadly cocktail of DOOM!"

Chris laughed and shook his head at him. "Dramatic much?"

Tony grinned. "Seriously, that thing isn't to be taken lightly."

"Ok, so I take it the first one to finish is the winner?"

"Exactly! So are you ready?" Tony asked, gripping his own beer in his hand.

Chris hesitated for a moment but then nodded with determination, clasping his hand around his beer bottle. He'd already had a few drinks and could feel a slight giddiness starting, but he wasn't about to turn down the challenge. And it was fun, forgetting about his worries and mucking around.

"Count us in my man." Tony said to the bartender opposite them.

The bar man grinned and nodded. "Ok, on your marks..." both of them gripped the beer bottles tighter. "Get set...Go!"

Chris quickly brought the bottle to his mouth and tilted his head, downing the bitter liquid. It tasted awful (he'd never liked beer) but he kept gulping it down until he started feeling sick. Then as he clunked the bottle down on the bar top, he noticed Tony had already downed his first shot. Chris tried to catch up, gulping down his first one and grimacing as the vodka burned his mouth and his throat. The smell of it suddenly had images flashing in his mind, and fear, fear of what he knew was coming next as he was shouted and screamed at...

Chris grabbed the second shot and downed it, forcing the thoughts from his mind. Then the third one, and finally he picked up the cocktail. This tasted much nicer, nice and fruity with the hint of alcohol hiding behind it. Chris really didn't see what Tony had meant about it. It went down easily and gave him a nice fuzzy feeling.

He smiled triumphantly as he set the glass down on the bar top.

"Finished!" he said happily.

Tony laughed and gave him a little clap even though he'd finished in time to see Chris downing the cocktail. Chris certainly seemed a lot more wobbly now and Tony shook his head at him in amusement.

"Geez, you light-weight," he grinned. "A few drinks and you're already drunk."

"I'm not drunk." Chris protested, but his words were slightly slurred and he started giggling.

Tony grinned at him then looked at the bartender. "I think we should switch him to water."

The bartender grinned back at him and nodded, then went to fetch a bottle from one of the small fridges. In the mean time Tony turned back to Chris who smiled at him.

"I can so handle more drinks," he argued. He looked over the bar. "I want another one of those cocktail thingys..."

"No you don't, believe me." Tony grinned, knowing he was doing his friend a favour. The hangover was going to be bad enough without him adding more to it. Tony himself could feel himself getting slightly drunk, but he knew he'd still be able to handle a few more without being completely plastered.

"Hey you've got an eyelash." Tony said, noticing the tiny hair on Chris's cheek. He gestured for Chris to lean forward, which he did, so he could get it.

As he was doing so, Chris didn't take his eyes off of him. Tony didn't find this too strange, until Chris put his hand on the back of Tony's neck, closed the small space between them and kissed him. He kissed Chris back without a second thought, taking the invitation to include his tongue as Chris opened his mouth. He deepened the kiss by pulling Chris closer, circling one arm around him and putting the other on his hip. Chris put his other arm around his neck, moaning softly.

Once they stopped making out, both slightly breathless, Tony grinned and nodded at the dance floor behind Chris.

"You gonna dance with me?" he asked over the music.

Chris smiled back at him and nodded, allowing Tony to pull him off the bar stool he was sitting on and lead him towards the dance floor. There wasn't much room because of the large crowd already there, but this gave them the perfect excuse to dance close to each other. The beat of the music was fast but half way during the current song, Chris stopped dancing and wrapped his arms around Tony's neck, kissing him again. He knew that the alcohol he'd consumed was playing a large part in his current behaviour and a tiny part in the back of his mind was slapping him for it, but it was swiftly ignored. He was out here to have fun, and this _was _fun...

* * *

It was during dessert that the subject of the wedding finally came up. Wyatt had been under the impression that this was exactly what Carla had wanted to have everyone talking about during dinner, but it wasn't until now that she eventually brought it up. She mentioned it casually after swallowing a mouthful of warm apple pie (home made by Piper, of course).

"So, we thought that while everyone was together we could talk about the wedding." she said.

Everyone looked up from their bowls, surprised someone had actually spoken. They'd been in the middle of one of those awkward silences again.

"Good idea," Piper smiled. "We don't see each other that often after all."

"Thankfully." Wyatt muttered under his breath, only to be nudged by Carla under the table.

"Have you set a date?" Brenda asked.

Carla gave Wyatt a discrete smile, pleased with herself that she'd managed to get everyone talking, and then paid attention to her mother.

"Well spring next year sounds like a good time to me."

Wyatt nearly choked on his wine and set the glass down before he caused himself some damage. He swallowed the remaining wine in his mouth and looked at Carla.

"Spring next year?" he questioned, coughing slightly.

"Yeah..." Carla dragged out, wondering where he was going with this.

"But, that's only four months away." he pointed out.

"I know. But you DID propose _last _year and spring's a nice time to get married." Carla countered.

"I have to agree," Brenda nodded. "Lillith from down the street got married in spring and the atmosphere was brilliant. The weather was beautiful and it was when all the flowers and cherry blossom trees were blossoming outside the church."

Carla nodded enthusiastically and smiled at Wyatt to show this was a good idea.

He wasn't so convinced.

"Well, summer is a nice time to get married too." Piper piped up. She'd noticed Wyatt's discomfort and decided to add her two cents. Wyatt gave her a small smile and a mental hug at the gesture.

"No, spring is much better." Brenda said, completely dismissing Piper's comment. Piper raised her eyebrows and looked at Leo who raised his eyebrows in return.

"Have you decided on a venue?" Robert asked, his eyes still lowered on his dessert. Until this point it had seemed he hadn't been paying any attention.

"Not yet." Carla replied. She put her hand in Wyatt's and gave it a gentle squeeze, giving him a little smile at the same time. She was obviously enjoying the conversation just as much as Wyatt wasn't.

"Oh, the Glenview hotel is _beautiful _for weddings!" Brenda gushed. "High ceilings, and big bay windows...and they always decorate wonderfully for special occasions."

"I don't think Glenview is an option dear." Robert replied. "It's very expensive."

He and Brenda glanced at each other and Piper narrowed her eyes slightly at them.

"Oh, but it sounds lovely..." Carla said, sounding saddened.

"Well I suppose me and your mother could cover the full price for the venue." Robert smiled at his daughter.

"Uh, I'm sorry, but I thought you said it was 'very expensive'?" Piper questioned with an edge to her voice. Leo didn't look very happy either, arms folded across his chest.

"Well, we didn't expect _your _family to be able to pay for it is merely what I meant."

Piper smacked her cutlery down on her plate, completely forgetting that they were made of china.

"Excuse me?!" she spluttered, outraged that someone would even insinuate something like that, never mind say it. Leo's mouth had dropped open in shock, then his expression was replaced with anger too.

Brenda looked startled, Robert merely indifferent, and Carla hurriedly tried to change the subject.

"So I asked little Jenna if she wanted to be my flower girl." she swallowed nervously, glancing at Piper and Leo who were glaring at her parents. She hit Wyatt under the table, indicating for him to help her, but he kept his head bent over his dessert, shovelling it into his mouth and avoiding eye contact with everyone. The comment had made him angry too of course, but he felt there was no point in him starting an argument that would go nowhere.

"Oh that's nice." Brenda replied, glancing at her husband.

"What about bridesmaids?" Piper asked stiffly, a frosty edge to her voice. She was forcing herself to let the previous comment go, for Wyatt's sake. It wasn't his fault Carla's parents were the way they were and arguing would just spoil the dinner for him.

"Oh, I'm asking four of my friends. My best friend Casey is going to be the Matron of Honour." Carla replied, letting her tensed muscles relax slightly now that Piper was talking.

"What about your best man Wyatt?" Leo asked, trying to involve his son in the conversation. It seemed to him that Wyatt just wasn't getting the chance to talk, where in actual fact he didn't actually want to.

Wyatt looked up from his apple pie, down-heartened that his silence was being interrupted.

"I asked Tony and Andy to do it. I didn't think it was fair to choose between them." he said and Piper smiled. She liked Tony and Andy.

"Well they'll certainly make an impression..." Robert muttered disapprovingly, thinking of what the family would think when they saw people like...like THAT in the wedding party.

"Did you say something?" Piper asked waspishly, shooting a glare at him.

"I just don't want our family to think that Carla is associated with people like that." Robert replied in a flash, his tone matching Piper's exactly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Wyatt snapped, before anyone else could say anything. He clenched his fists on the table, glaring at Robert as he waited for an answer.

"Oh we've heard about them," Robert said coldly and Wyatt looked at Carla, narrowing his eyes. She looked down at her hands, avoiding his gaze.

"There's nothing wrong with them," Wyatt said with gritted teeth, looking back at Robert. "They're good people, and I've been best friends with them for years."

"Yes, well we've heard about you too Wyatt." Robert said, almost saying his name in a mocking tone. And Wyatt finally knew what this was about; at least it was obvious where Carla's prejudice views came from.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Leo cut in angrily, even before Piper could. She had just been about to ask the same question then Leo had got there before her.

"I think it's fairly obvious. Going around with those type of people...he's exactly the same. Going out and getting drunk, flirting and whatnot with members of the same sex... It's sickening! It makes you wonder how he was raised!-

At this point Piper and Leo got abruptly to their feet, full of intense anger. Wyatt also got to his feet, glaring furiously at Carla's father.

"How dare you! You can't just come in here and talk to our son like that! Not to mention insult the way we raised him!" Piper shrieked, looking the angriest Wyatt had seen her in a _long _time.

Robert also stood up, seeing it as a challenge.

"Your son is NOT the sort of person we want our daughter being around! My questioning of your parenting skills is hardly unjustified!"

"Dad!-

Carla tried to cut in but Piper was well ahead of her.

"You know what?! Maybe your _daughter_ isn't the sort of person we want our son being around!" Carla instantly went quiet. "You've raised a stuck-up priss of a girl with prejudice views like yours and a bad attitude to match! And I can't say _I'm_ unjustified in saying that! Our son is a thousand times a better person than your _precious_ daughter!"

"Excuse me!" Brenda exclaimed shrilly, getting to her feet beside her husband. "You're completely out of order!"

"_We're_ out of order?!" Leo snapped in disbelief. "We welcome you both into our home, my wife cooks a wonderful meal for you, and you sit there openly insulting our life and our son in front of us! _You're _the ones out of fucking order!"

Wyatt looked at his dad, startled. His dad was always the calm one in arguments, the mediator of the situation, and he _never_ swore. However, what Wyatt didn't know was that when it came to his family, Leo was just as ferocious as his wife.

"We knew coming here would be a bloody mistake!" Robert said sharply. He looked at his wife. "Why did you agree to this?!"

"Because I asked her to!" Carla cut in loudly. "I wanted you all to get to know each other before the wedding!"

Piper laughed bitterly. "Oh we definitely got to know each other better! I now know that your parents are stuck-up, twisted individuals that I don't wish to spend any more time with!"

"The feeling is completely mutual!" Robert snarled."Come on Brenda, we're leaving!"

"Great! Don't let the door hit you on the way out!" Leo called angrily after them as Robert pulled Brenda over to get their coats. Carla scraped her chair back and went after them.

"Wyatt." Piper said as her son got up. He looked at her.

"Wyatt?" Carla called from behind him, having stopped when she realised he wasn't following her.

Wyatt looked at her then back at his mother. Piper gave him a soft, "_Please don't go with them" _look and Wyatt felt a solid mass forming in his stomach. Great, what a lovely situation the Powers that Be had put him in. Now he had to choose between his fiancée and his mom? Well, maybe it wasn't as dramatic as that but he knew he would pay for whatever decision he made.

"I'll see you at the apartment." he sad quietly to Carla. No matter how much he loved her, he knew where his true loyalties would always lie.

Carla, looking slightly hurt, gave him one last look before turning around and going after her parents without another word. Wyatt sighed, crossing his arms across his chest as the front door closed with a bang that left silence in its wake.

Piper slowly walked over and placed her hand gently on his arm.

"It's not too late you know." she said softly, and Wyatt know instantly what she meant.

He gave her a grim smile and said nothing.

* * *

Opening the front door, Wyatt listened carefully for any noise in the apartment. There was none, and he cautiously stepped inside, closing the door behind him. It was now over two hours since the incident at the manor and he wasn't sure how Carla was going to be feeling at this precise moment.

He found her sitting in the living room on one of the chairs, still in her black dress with her high heels kicked off. Her hair was unravelling and she was staring absent mindedly at a space on the wall, chewing on her thumbnail. The lights were off but the moon light was shining on her through the French doors leading on to their (very) small balcony that over looked the pool.

She looked up as he entered the room.

"Well that was a disaster." she commented bitterly, looking away from him again as she continued to chew on her nail.

Wyatt snorted. "You think?"

He kicked his own shoes off and undid his tie so it hung loosely around his neck, then undid the top button of his shirt.

"I can't believe it..." Carla muttered. "One night was all I asked and everyone ended up arguing." she looked at Wyatt accusingly. "Including _you_."

"Well what did you expect me to do? Sit there as your dad insulted my friends?" Wyatt asked, sitting down on the sofa opposite her.

"I don't know! But you _know _what my dad is like!" Carla said, meaning that Wyatt shouldn't have baited him.

"Yeah, damn right I do!"

Carla blanched at this and narrowed her eyes at her fiancé.

"Well your _mom_ wasn't exactly any better!" she snapped.

"My _mom_ reacted like any normal person would! You're dad sat there first of all and acted like my family is poor or something!"

"No he didn't!" Carla argued.

"Are you kidding me? Of course he did! He _said_ it Carla!"

"He didn't mean it like that." Carla said through gritted teeth.

"Like hell he didn't! Just face it Carla; your dad is a stuck up asshole! Even if my parents couldn't afford that stupid hotel, who the fuck _cares_?!"

Carla ignored the comment and got to her feet.

"At least now I know your mom hates me! She certainly kept that quiet, didn't she?"

"Yeah, cause it gives you a really fuzzy feeling inside when people express it openly!" Wyatt snapped back at her, referring of course to her parents (more specifically her father).

"You know what? I'm tired of this argument! I'm going to bed." Carla pushed past him and as she reached the bedroom, she spun around again. "You can sleep on the sofa!" she yelled, and she slammed the door shut.

"What?!" Wyatt exclaimed. "Argh!" he kicked the side of the sofa hard, only to hurt his foot in the process. "Bitch!" he said forcibly under his breath, rubbing his toe.

"Asshole!" Carla yelled through the wood of the door, having obviously heard him.

Wyatt just rolled his eyes and lay down on his bed for the night.

* * *

Meanwhile, two levels below them...

Tony shoved Chris against the wall of the hallway in his apartment after just closing the door. Chris groaned, pulling at his shirt as they made out eagerly in their drunken state, the fog in his brain hardly making him think straight. It he _was_ thinking straight then he would most likely be thinking that this wasn't the best of ideas, but because he wasn't thinking straight then there was no point in pondering what he would do if he _was _thinking straight...

Tony pulled him away from the wall, lips still connected, and they stumbled through the apartment with Tony trying to hopelessly navigate their way to his bedroom whilst trying to snog his friend at the same time. He ended up having Chris pushed up against the wall again, beside the door to his bedroom, and decided that this spot would do fine for now. He pulled Chris's t-shirt up and Chris raised his arms up so Tony could lift it off and throw it to the floor. Then he pulled his own shirt off.

This was crazy and he knew it. This was _Chris_ for gods sake! There was a strict rule between all the friends that they would NOT get involved with one another, no matter how much the lust built up ("Because seriously, we all know all you guys will be lusting after me sooner or later!" Andy had said, only to have his head slapped by everyone) but Tony decided that breaking the rule just once couldn't hurt...

"Tony..." Chris moaned, only to be silenced by another hard kiss. They stumbled away from the wall, through to bedroom, falling on to the bed...

It didn't take long for the rest of their clothes to be pulled off...Or for Tony to be inside of him, thrusting hard and sometimes out of rhythm but Chris didn't care. It felt good anyway.

"Uh..." Chris moaned, leaning his head back and arching his back slightly. "Faster...go faster..."

Tony did as he said, thrusting deeper and faster into him. Chris had one arm around his neck, nails digging into his shoulders, and the other was lying on the mattress, his hand grasping the white sheets tightly. He moaned as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over him...

* * *

Wyatt couldn't sleep. He stared straight up at the ceiling, one arm behind his head and the other resting on his stomach as he lay on this stupid leather sofa. His mind had been constantly replaying the night's events, over and over in his mind.

He lifted his head slightly as he heard the bedroom quietly opening. He watched, and kept watching as Carla slowly made her way around the corner and stopped to look at him.

"Hey," she said softly. "I hoped you would be awake."

"Hey." Wyatt replied, sitting up as she walked over. He moved his legs so she could sit, all the while wondering what was happening.

Carla looked down at her hands uncertain of how to start.

"I...I wanted to ask you something..." she started quietly.

"What?" Wyatt asked, keeping his voice just ask soft as hers.

It was then he noticed the tears shining in her eyes and he frowned in concern, leaning forward slightly.

"I just...I just need to know if...if you still want to marry me?.." The tears couldn't stop themselves, and were soon rolling down her face.

Wyatt was shocked at this. He had no idea that Carla had been feeling insecure like this...

"Carla..." Wyatt started.

Carla sniffed through the tears. "It's just, we're always arguing and our parents' don't want us to be together and...and..."

"Hey," Wyatt interjected. He reached out his hand and wiped away her tears. "Of course I want to marry you, you nut. So what if we argue a bit and our parents' aren't so keen on the idea? Every couple goes through a rough patch..."

"Generally not even before the wedding though." Carla commented.

"So we break the mould," He said. Carla gave a small laugh and Wyatt smiled.

Carla sniffed again and wiped at her damp cheeks. She smiled softly at her fiancé. "I love you..."

Wyatt smiled back at her."I love you too."

They kissed each other and Wyatt pulled her into an embrace. But as he held her in his arms, he couldn't help but wondering if his little speech had been to convince himself more than his upset fiancée...

"_It's not too late you know."_

* * *

Tony collapsed on top of Chris, totally exhausted as they both came. They lay there, gasping for breath, sheaved in sweat. Tony rolled off of his friend and through an arm over his eyes as he tried to slow his hammering heart. Chris lay beside him with his eyes closed, his chest rising up and down rapidly like he'd just run a marathon.

Well, he'd went out to have fun, and that's exactly what he got...

* * *

Hee hee, I feel so dirty making that happen. So the chapter was a bit controversial, Tony and Chris shacking up and whatnot. I look forward to your thoughts... ;)

Oh and remember to answer the question!! -evil stare-

Thanks ya'll!

-Jess


	10. Chapter 9

The hazy sunlight filtered through the dark fabric of the lightweight curtains, creeping across the untidy bedroom and illuminating the various objects and furniture that inhabited it. The mattress of the thoroughly messy bed creaked slightly as it was shifted upon whilst still deep in sleep and then everything was silent again aside from the gentle sound of steady breathing.

Tony was the first of the two to wake, yawning widely and wearily opening his eyes. He blinked a few times to get rid of the sleepy fuzziness and groaned at his pounding hangover headache. Being in the morning, his brain took a while to process that he had his arm looped around someone's waist with them snuggled up against him and their head on his chest, their legs tangled with his under the bed sheets. He frowned in confusion, trying to remember how much to drink he'd had the night before, and who it was he had obviously slept with. Then it all came rushing back as he tilted his head to the side, seeing Chris's peaceful face with his dark brown hair falling over his delicate features. He suddenly remembered all the alcohol, shot after shot, that they'd had, then the kissing and dancing...then finally stumbling to the apartment, stopping to make out every now and again before making it to the bedroom and having clumsy, drunken sex.

Tony sighed, head falling back against the pillow as he stared up at the ceiling. After a few moments, he decided to get up. He carefully moved Chris off of him and sat up, scrubbing his hands over his face and yawning again. He glanced at Chris who was still peacefully sleeping, breathing softly in and out, before getting out the bed and searching for his jeans. He slipped on a clean pair of boxers then put on his jeans (which were just beside the door) and went through to the kitchen to make some breakfast.

Fifteen minutes later, Tony was finished cooking the bacon and swiftly made two bacon sandwiches. He put one on a plate and carried it through to the bedroom. He smiled slightly when he saw Chris was still sleeping. "Rise and shine sleepy head." he called, loud enough to wake him. Chris groaned slightly then slowly opened his eyes. It took him a moment to get his bearings, and his eyes darted to Tony who placed the plate on the bedside table.

Chris immediately sat up, pulling the sheet tightly around him. "Um..." he started.

"I made you breakfast." Tony said, gesturing at the plate. Chris looked up at him then glanced around the room.

"Did we...uh..." he trailed off, looking embarrassed.

"Sleep together?" Tony finished for him, and Chris nodded. "Yeah, we did." Tony confirmed. He looked quite amused by Chris's embarrassment.

"Oh." Was all Chris said. "Uh, do you know where my clothes are?.." he then asked, keeping his eyes averted from Tony.

"Well, your jeans are over there," Tony said, pointing at them. "But I'm not sure where the rest is..." he mused.

He spotted one of his shirts lying on the ground and picked it up. He held it out to Chris. "Here, you can wear this until you find everything. Don't worry, it's clean. I'm just messy." he said.

"Thanks." Chris replied softly, taking it off him. He slipped the shirt over his head, not even needing to unbutton it first. It was FAR too big for him and he started rolling up the sleeves to his elbows.

"Well, it's a tad big." Tony grinned. He jerked his thumb towards the door. "I'll just be in the kitchen k'?" he said, and Chris nodded. Once Tony had left, Chris spotted his boxers on the floor and slipped out of the bed to put them on. Once he had, he realised it didn't really matter. The shirt reached down to just below his mid-thigh anyway. Chris let out a deep breath, rubbing his eyes in the process.

His memory was all fuzzy, but he was certainly starting to remember THAT part... He groaned and let his hands drop away from his face. The smell of the bacon sandwich on the bedside table filtered over to him and he slowly walked over, sitting down on the edge of the bed with one leg tucked underneath him. He picked up the sandwich and took a small, tentative bite.

Tony had just taken a bite of his own bacon sandwich when there was knock on the front door. "Come in!" he called, his mouth full. He heard the door opening and 2 seconds later Wyatt walked into the kitchen.

"Hey man." Wyatt said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a brown envelope. "Here's your pay for the month." he said, handing it to Tony. Tony grinned, putting his plate down.

"Your mom got you running errands now?" he asked, opening the envelope to see the check.

"Yeah, the perks of being the boss's son..." Wyatt said with a sigh. He spotted the leftover bacon still sitting in the frying pan and looked at it wistfully.

"Help yourself." Tony said, noticing him looking. "Thanks," Wyatt said, grabbing the loaf of bread and taking two slices out of the packet.

"Carla's wanting to put me on this stupid low protein diet." he continued to say as he piled four slices of bacon on to one of the slices of bread.

"Why?" Tony asked with a bewildered look as he passed his best friend a bottle of tomato ketchup.

"Dunno, I wasn't really listening. Something about cholesterol or something." Wyatt shrugged as he squeezed a large dollop of sauce on to the bacon, and then covered it with the other piece of bread.

"You have high cholesterol?" Tony asked after taking another bite of his sandwich.

"Nope." Wyatt said. Tony snorted. "Your fiancée's a psycho, mate." Wyatt then proceeded to punch his arm, but he grinned afterwards. As Wyatt took a bite of his sandwich, Tony glanced passed him at the archway leading into the hall. He wondered if it was a good idea to tell Wyatt what had happened between himself and Chris, or if he should leave it.

Unfortunately for him, had he decided to keep it a secret it wouldn't have really mattered, as at that moment, Chris decided unwittingly to walk in. Tony stopped chewing as an "Uh oh" moment flashing through his mind. He wasn't sure if Wyatt would particularly mind or not, not really knowing why he would have a reason too, but there had always been this sort of unspoken rule not to get involved with anyone within the friendship circle. After all, if things went wrong then it'd leave everyone else in an awkward position. And by the look on Wyatt's face, it was clear he had that particular rule very fresh in his mind. He and Chris had both froze when they saw each other, Chris looking rather like a rabbit caught in headlights. Not like Tony could blame him, considering he was only wearing his shirt... He cleared his throat, figuring it would be a very good idea to say or do something.

"Uh, not hungry?" he questioned, nodding at the half eaten bacon sandwich on the plate Chris was holding in his right hand, his other arm wrapped around his torso. Chris tore his eyes away from Wyatt to look at Tony, then down at his plate. He shook his head.

"Um, no, I don't really eat that much in the morning..." he trailed off, glancing back at Wyatt who was still staring at him, an unreadable expression on his face. Chris blushed and let Tony take the plate off him so he could put his other arm around himself. "Is it ok if I use your shower?" he asked.

Tony nodded, glanced at Wyatt, then looked back at Chris. "Sure," he said. "It's just down the hall."

"Thanks," Chris said, lowering his eyes as he turned around and walked out of the kitchen, leaving the two friends alone. Tony casually cleared his throat and took another bite of his sandwich. He could feel Wyatt's eyes on him and he looked up.

"What?" he questioned, mouth full of bread and bacon.

"What the hell?" was all Wyatt said, staring at Tony with a frown gracing his features as a long stream of questions flashed through his mind.

Since when were Tony and Chris romantically involved? Had it been going on a while? When did it start? Did Chris really like Tony?...He felt a familiar feeling bubbling in the pit of his stomach.

"Well, the short version? We got totally pissed last night and had some drunken, casual sex. No big deal." Tony shrugged, chewing methodically.

"No big deal?" Wyatt repeated, putting his sandwich on the counter, no longer feeling very hungry. "No big deal? You two slept together! That is a big deal! I mean, what brought this on?"

"Alcohol?"

Wyatt glared at him, anger flaring in his chest. He hated that Tony was being so flippant about this, when he himself obviously cared so much. He tried to ignore it, but jealousy had already started twisting in his stomach and filling his senses.

"So, you two just jumped into bed together? Just like that?"

"We were drunk...it's not like we were thinking straight. Why do you care so much anyway?" Tony questioned defensively.

"I don't care." Wyatt quickly replied, crossing his arms across his chest as he tried to appear less wound up. "I just thought we all had an agreement that none of us would get involved with one another. You know, to avoid awkwardness within the group?"

"Chris didn't live here when we made that agreement." Tony tried to joke, but he noticed Wyatt's serious expression and sighed. "Look, it won't be weird ok? Me and Chris will talk after he gets out the shower. We'll more than likely just stay friends."

Wyatt's tense muscles relaxed slightly, hearing those last words. He could live with 'just friends'... As long as he could force himself to stop thinking about them in bed together. Those thoughts alone were making him grit his teeth, clenching one of his fists tightly by his side. Thankfully Tony didn't notice as he cleared up the stuff he'd used to make breakfast, letting Wyatt fester in his own thoughts.

"I'd better get going." He muttered, pushing off from the counter. He shot a look at Tony. "See you later."

Tony said nothing, just stared after his best friend as he left the apartment. He frowned, holding the loaf of bread in his hands. Why was Wyatt so pissed off about this? It wasn't like he was affected by it in any way... Surely some half hearted agreement they'd all made a few years back wasn't that big a deal?

He sighed to himself and continued to clear up, listening to the water from the shower running from the bathroom down the hall. He decided to go get dressed before he and Chris talked.

Wyatt stormed down the stairs of the apartment building, wanting to put as much distance between them as possible. He exited the main doors and walked briskly along the sidewalk, not sure where he was headed.

He eventually stopped at a town square. At the centre there was a large fountain with several people sitting along its edge, talking, eating lunch, chatting on cell phones and whatever else. Wyatt walked past the fountain, half listening to the water running and splashing, and stopped at a wooden bench. He sat down heavily and rested his head in his hands, elbows rested upon his knees.

No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't shake the resentment towards his best friend...knowing that just twelve hours earlier he had been touching Chris, kissing him, making love to him...when lately Wyatt couldn't stop thinking about doing anything but that. It wasn't fair – Tony was free to do these things with Chris if he wanted, because they were both single, but he didn't appreciate it like he should. Like Wyatt would if he had the same options.

But he was involved with someone else, and he loved her. He just had to keep reminding himself of that to stop himself from going crazy...

Wyatt groaned and patted his palms against his head, hoping half heartedly that he could knock these stupid thoughts right out of his ears. He hated feeling like this...lusting after Chris when nothing good could come from it. Feeling jealous that his _single_ friend had gotten there first, even though he technically wasn't doing anything wrong. Tony, after all, didn't know about Wyatt's growing feelings for Chris. No-one did, and no-one ever would as long as Wyatt had something to do with it. He couldn't imagine the consequences if someone did manage to figure it out.

So he really shouldn't be angry at Tony for this. He had no right to be... But he couldn't help it. He wanted Chris, so badly...

And Tony had gotten there first.

When Chris entered the kitchenette, hair still damp from the shower, Tony was fully dressed and leaning against the breakfast bar, a steaming cup of coffee held by the handle in one hand. He looked up as Chris walked in and gave him a half smile.

"Coffee?" he asked, gesturing at his own cup.

"Uh, yeah, thanks." Chris said quietly, weakly returning the smile. He felt a lot better after the shower; he didn't feel so grimy any more. He glanced around the kitchen, noticing that Wyatt was no longer around.

"Wyatt left?"

"Yeah, I think he had a few things to do." Tony replied, taking a mug from the cupboard.

There was small silence, and Chris put his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he leaned against the counter.

"Good night huh?" Tony started conversationally as he poured coffee from the coffee maker into the mug.

Chris cleared his throat, feeling awkward. "Uh, yeah... Drank a bit too much though, I think."

Tony chuckled. "Yeah, me too. Won't be doing that again anytime soon."

They lapsed into silence once more as Tony placed the coffee maker back down and wandered over, handing the hot mug to Chris. Chris gave him a small thanks and they both took a gulp of the bitter liquid. The feeling in the air between was still slightly awkward as each of them tried to decide on what to say.

"About last night..." Chris was the first to begin, looking up from staring down at his coffee. "I just wanted you to know that I'm not normally like that. I mean, I don't sleep around or anything..."

"Yeah, I know. I never thought that." Tony replied, giving Chris an understanding smile. Chris looked slightly relieved and took another drink of coffee.

"Basically, the way I see it is that we were way too drunk and got a bit carried away, that's all. It wouldn't have happened if we'd been sober. " Tony reasoned.

Chris nodded in agreement. "That's true." He replied.

"Not that I don't think you're attractive," Tony quickly cut in, in case Chris felt offended. "I just never thought of you in that way before."

Chris smiled. "It's fine, I get what you mean."

"So...you just want to forget about it then? Go back to being friends that don't have drunken sex?" Tony asked with a grin.

"I think that'd be a good idea." Chris agreed, returning the smile.

They lapsed into silence once more as they both took drinks of their coffee. Something about the bitterness of it seemed to help the hangover they were both suffering from.

"It was fun though right?" Tony pressed with a sly grin.

Chris laughed lightly. "Yeah, it was pretty fun."

"I have to admit, from what I remember, you were pretty damn good in bed..."

Chris' cheeks tinged pink slightly and he smiled. "You weren't too bad yourself."

"Good to know." Tony chuckled, then finished off the last mouthfuls of coffee left in his cup.

Chris looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. He gulped down the last bit of coffee and placed the mug on the breakfast bar.

"I better get going. Need to get a few things done around my apartment before work tomorrow."

Tony nodded, grabbing Chris' mug and putting them both in the sink with the other dishes.

"Alright. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yep." Chris smiled and moved to walk away, but Tony pulled him into a friendly hug as he passed. He was surprised at first, but relaxed into it after a moment, giving Tony a squeeze before they broke apart.

"See you later." Tony said to him, and Chris repeated the same back to him before pulling away and leaving the apartment.

First on his list of things to do was to go buy some groceries. He was running dangerously low on food and it wouldn't be long before he was living on dry breakfast cereal and water if he didn't buy more soon. So stuffing some money in his pocket, Chris left his apartment and descended the stair wells.

As he strolled casually along the streets, he finally allowed his mind to wander. He couldn't believe he'd been as stupid as to sleep with someone after getting so drunk... It just wasn't like him to do that. Then again, he'd never had the chance to do something like that before, so the concept of casual sex was completely new to him. Being in a long term relationship for multiple years and only having sex with one person that entire time seemed to have left him rather oblivious.

As Chris crossed the street in the direction of the nearest grocery store, he cut across a town square, sidling past people enjoying their lunchtime. As he passed the glimmering fountain, Chris squinted his eyes against the brightness of the sun reflecting off the water. It was then that he noticed Wyatt sitting on one of the several wooden benches, not far from where he was walking.

Chris' heart skipped a beat as he saw him and he stopped in his tracks. He wasn't sure whether to approach his friend or not... The incident in Tony's apartment had been beyond embarrassing. And Chris had the strange feeling that Wyatt was angry at him for it. He knew this was probably ridiculous, but he couldn't shake the look on Wyatt's face from his mind when he had walked into the kitchen, dressed in just Tony's shirt.

The worst possible person to be there just had to have been. Chris knew is feelings for Wyatt were unrequited, but still, he didn't want Wyatt seeing him with other people...Or getting some adverse opinion about him, like he was easy after a few drinks. He cared what Wyatt thought about him, even though he tried not to.

After a few moments, Chris decided to go over. Wyatt had his head in his hands and Chris frowned thoughtfully, wondering what was wrong with him.

"Hey." He said, sitting down beside him on the bench.

Wyatt looked up, startled. He seemed surprised to see Chris and cleared his throat, straightening up.

"Hi." He replied after a beat, scratching the back of his head.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, why?"

Chris bit the inside of his lip as he looked at him. He obviously wasn't fine; he was acting weird towards him and he didn't like it. Their friendship mattered to him, and he didn't want Wyatt upset with him over something as silly as this.

"You're acting weird," Chris said, voicing his thoughts. "Are you mad at me or something?"

Wyatt stuffed his hands in his pockets, slumping down in the bench as he stared at his knees.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

Wyatt's mouth curved into a small, almost bitter, smile and he sighed through his nose. He was quiet for a few moments and Chris waited anxiously for an answer.

"I'm not mad at you." Wyatt finally said, though he didn't sound very convincing. Chris shoulders sagged when he realised Wyatt wasn't going to easily open up.

"Look," he began, feeling the need to explain the situation. "I don't normally do things like that... I mean, me and Tony are just friends. It was really stupid and-

"Listen, I'm not bothered ok? It's none of my business anyway." Wyatt cut, still not looking at him. He sounded mildly irritated, which was new to Chris. He hadn't experienced Wyatt being irritated or annoyed with him before. Still, he felt the need to elaborate further.

"It's only because we were drunk," he explained. "It wouldn't have happened normally. We were having this drinking contest, which was stupid because I get drunk way too easily, and it just got out of hand...

As he was talking, he didn't notice Wyatt clenching his hands tightly on top of his knees. He didn't want to hear this; he didn't want to hear the details of how Tony had gotten his hands on Chris when he should have left well enough alone. He didn't want to hear over and over again that it was because they were 'drunk'. Things didn't just happen due to alcohol. There had to have been some underlying attraction there for them to have gone down that route, even if they hadn't been aware of it when sober.

Chris trying to explain himself wasn't helping. Hearing these details just made him angrier, and more frustrated.

"And then we were kissing all of a sudden, and it just happened so fast. I just-

"Look, stop trying to explain it will you? Weren't you listening? I'm not bothered! You can get pissed and screw whoever the hell you want, I don't give a frickin' damn!"

The words came out a lot harsher than intended and Wyatt wished he could of grabbed them back as soon as they slipped out of his mouth. Chris seemed startled by the outburst at first, but then a look of hurt flashed across his face. But Wyatt couldn't stop now, even though the voice in his head was screaming at him to shut the hell up. It was like verbal diarrhoea and it showed no sign of letting up.

"You want to know why I'm pissed off?" he asked angrily, though he didn't even wait for a response, "Because you let yourself get played so easily! Remember that guy at the club who walked out on you? He walked out because I scared him off. Why? Because all he was fucking interested in was shagging you, nothing else! And you just believed all his crap! What would have happened huh? Another drunken mistake like the one last night? God Chris, you need to stop being so fucking naive!"

He finally finished his rant, breathing more heavily than before after getting so worked up. Chris had went deathly silent and looked away from him, his brown hair falling into his eyes. Wyatt suddenly felt bad...really bad. His face softened, losing the frown and glare from before, and he swallowed as guilt twisted in his stomach. He opened his mouth to apologise.

"Yeah, guess you're right," Chris said quietly before he could, eyes fixed on the ground. He swallowed. "Sorry I bothered you." His voice cracked on the last sentence and he got up, Wyatt briefly seeing tears shining in his eyes before he walked away, back across the square from the direction he'd come.

Wyatt quickly stood up, to call after him or run to catch up, or...something. But he didn't do anything. His shoulders sagged and he pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb. God, he was an idiot.

Later that night, Chris lay in bed on his side, miserably scrolling through his cell phone. The light on his bedside table was on, casting a low ambience glow across the room and causing large shadows to dance across the walls. It was now pitch black outside and the wind whistled through the cracks of the window. Chris tightened the comforter around himself.

He scrolled down the list of contacts and paused at each of his brothers' numbers. He considered calling one of them, but then decided against it. It didn't really want to get into why he was upset... they would worry too much and the conversation would last too long. He was tired.

He flipped down the cover of the phone and placed it on the bedside table, before snuggling further into the comforter. The room was chilled and he shivered slightly.

As he lay there, staring through half closed eyes at the wall, he thought of what Wyatt had said to him at the square. He'd felt hurt by it and had left nearly in tears, but now as he lay there thinking it over, he realised Wyatt was right. He _was_ naive, and stupid. He fell easily for flattery and nice compliments and he knew that it needed to stop. It was the same thing that had gotten him sucked into his first major relationship... And after it got bad, he'd so desperately wanted to believe all the lies that he was regularly fed that he found himself unable, and unwilling, to break away from it.

He didn't want the same thing happening again. Wyatt was right...

Chris wiped at the moisture from his eyes and closed them tightly, hoping to fall asleep. The wind whistled even louder outside, and the sound was rather relaxing to listen to.

A loud knock on his front door nearly made him jump out of his skin. His eyes snapped open and he lay perfectly still for a moment, listening. After a few moments whoever it was knocked again and Chris groaned, burying his face in the pillow mumbling a half hearted 'go away'. He didn't want to deal with anyone right now...He just wanted to be left alone so he could go to sleep.

But whoever was on the other side of the door was persistent, and they knocked again, louder than before. Chris sighed in frustration, laying there for another few seconds, before forcing himself into a sitting position and getting up to go answer the door.

He padded out of the bedroom and down the hall, wearing white pyjama bottoms and a light blue t-shirt with bare feet. He shivered in the cool air and rubbed his arms with his hands as he approached the door.

Grasping the handle, Chris pushed it down and swung open the door. Then he stared at the person on the other side.

Wyatt held out a small, white pastry box to him. "Banoffee pie?" He offered, and he gave Chris a gentle, apologetic smile.

Chris tore his eyes from Wyatt's face and looked at the box held out to him. He slowly reached out and took it from the blonde, staring down at it in confusion.

"I got hungry on the way here so there's a bite taken out of the corner," Wyatt admitted sheepishly. "But the rest of it's fine. And it tastes really good."

"Um...thanks..." Chris said quietly, still staring down at the box with a light frown on his face.

There were a few moments of silence and Chris looked back up at Wyatt, not sure of exactly what was happening here. A peace offering? Was he apologising? Or had he just decided that he might like some pie?

Wyatt stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed gently through his nose.

"Look, Chris," he started. "I just wanted to apologise for what I said earlier. I'm really sorry... I was just pissed off I guess, and I took it on you."

Chris bit the inside of his lip, and allowed him to continue. He placed the pastry box on the small table sitting next to him in the hall.

"I didn't mean it, honestly." Wyatt insisted, looking sincerely apologetic.

Chris waited a moment, considering this. Even if he hadn't meant it, the words had still held some truth. Chris pushed away the hurt before asking; "Then what were you so angry about?"

Wyatt hesitated a moment before answering him. He looked down at the floor as he did so.

"I just... I don't want you to get hurt, that's all. I guess I was angry because I don't want people taking advantage of you like that."

"Tony didn't take advantage of me... He's not that sort of person, and you know that. He's your best friend." Chris said gently, softening at Wyatt's revelation. He never knew he cared like that, but at the same time he didn't want Wyatt thinking that of Tony.

Wyatt let out a deep breath and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know." He said quietly. He lifted his head and smiled softly when their eyes met. "Am I forgiven?"

Chris returned the small smile after a moment. "Yeah, I guess so." He uttered.

A few more moments passed, then without a word, Wyatt reached forward and tugged on Chris' wrist, pulling him into a hug. Chris melted into it without a second thought as Wyatt wrapped his arms around him, enveloping him in his large embrace. His face was against Wyatt's chest and he closed his eyes, breathing in the smell of Wyatt's aftershave, hands gripping lightly on the back of his t-shirt. Wyatt leant his head against Chris', feeling his soft brown hair against his skin and he too closed his eyes, wishing deep inside that he wouldn't eventually have to let him go.

The hug was far too intimate for between friends, and they both knew it. But neither said anything and they stood like that for several more minutes, before Chris eventually took control and pulled away from the blonde. Wyatt held on to him for a split second before releasing him and taking a step back, clearing his throat.

"I'll, erm, see you tomorrow?" he asked, referring to work.

Chris nodded, his cheeks now a tinge of pink. "Yeah, see you tomorrow."

Wyatt smiled at him and uttered a soft goodbye, before turning and headed towards his own apartment. Chris closed his door then slowly turned around leaning his back against it.

He let out a deep breath and collected the pastry box from the small table before heading to the kitchen to have a taste of this supposedly really good pie.


	11. Chapter 10

Oh um, hello? Anybody there?...anyone at all?

To be a honest, I wouldn't be suprised if you'd all given up hope and abandoned this story (and the rest for that matter...) completely! But here it is, and update, exactly a year and a day since the last.

Wow, that's dreadful. Like really.

So sorry! But hey, how about a little bit of celebration for me? I've just finished my exams for this year! WOOP! Thank god that's over!

So here it is, the next installment of 'When Our Eyes Met'! And it's back to a past chapter this time. I know you're all probably eager to see what happens next between Chris and Wyatt but I'm afraid that'll have to wait till next time. But you know, I'm weirdly proud of this chapter so I hope that's a good thing and you enjoy it!

Thanks to every single one of you who reviewed, aaand big thanks to all those who PM'd me seeking out updates. And believe me, quite a lot of you did that xD It was the kick up the backside I needed!

Anyway, enough of my jabbering!

* * *

**The house, November 2020, age 15**

_One month had passed since that first date at the restaurant. One glorious month of dating Daegan, and Chris couldn't remember the last time he'd been this happy. Cheesily happy, but happy nonetheless. And the best part of dating Daegan? Definitely the kiss at the end of each date after Daegan took him home._

_They'd now moved past the dry, close mouthed kiss they'd shared the first time into an open mouthed, tongue tangled snog fest. The fact that Daegan had 6 years more experience with kissing did help a great deal. He would press his lips softly but firmly against his at first, then the kiss would get deeper, Daegan running the tip of his tongue along Chris' bottom lip until he would finally gain access into his warm mouth. He would suckle gently on his tongue and his bottom lip, masterfully dominating his mouth as Chris would groan and grip his hands in Daegan's black hair. Needless to say that he was left a quivering mess at the end of each make out session. The way Daegan could make him feel through a simple kiss was amazing – if he were told that he would be spending the rest of his days just kissing Daegan non-stop, he would die happy._

_On a typically lazy Sunday morning, Chris was lying blissfully asleep tangled up in his duvet and pillows on his bed. Lying on his stomach with his face in a pillow, he sighed in his sleep and curled up in his warm cacoon, unaware that any moment he was about to receive a rather rude awakening._

_His brother, the annoying one, charged unannounced into his room, door banging against the wall. Munching on a piece of toast, Mark approached his sleeping brother and shook his head. The polite thing of course would have been to gentle shake him, call his name, to wake him from his slumber. But Mark wouldn't be Mark if he did things the polite way._

_He approached the bed and climbed on to it, so he was standing above his brother, before he sat down heavily on top of him, all 187 pounds of him._

_Chris 'oofed' and woke with a start, his head shooting up from the pillow. Realising he had a rather heavy load on his back, he groaned angrily and tried to stretch his arm back to give Mark a whack._

_"Get off me!" he complained loudly. "You big oaf, you weigh a ton!"_

_Mark merely admired his toast as he relaxed into a comfier position before taking another bite of the jammy goodness. He patted Chris' back in what could of been a loving gesture if it wasn't for the fact he was crushing him at the same time._

_" Well if you'd gotten home at a reasonable hour last night young man you wouldn't be sleeping in so late and I, alas, would not have gotten the opportunity to annoy you. Which would have been such a shame." Mark replied with his mouth full._

_"You jerk, get off!"_

_"Sorry, no can do."_

_Chris gave an angry yell into the pillow and Mark grinned in amusement. He heard a muffled "I hate you so much" and took another bite of his toast, unfazed._

_"So," Mark began, giving his brother a prod. "Where were you last night?"_

_Chris didn't reply and Mark could tell he was stubbornly refusing to speak to him._

_Poke. "Well?" Poke. Poke. "Ah come on, what's with the all the secrecy?" Poke. Poke. "_Chris_..." Poke._

_"Will you quit it?" Chris exclaimed, trying and failing to hit him again._

_"Were you with lover boy again?"_

_"I swear I'm gonna..."_

_"You've been going out with him quite a lot."_

_"Mark-_

_"You're still a virgin right? You better be or I'll-"_

_"Grandma!" Chris yelled loudly._

_"Alright, alright!" Mark gave up, putting up his hands in surrender. He held out the remains of his toast at Chris' face. "Want the rest?"_

_"I want you to get off me!"_

_"Fine." Mark conceded and stood up. He placed his foot on Chris' back and gave him a rough nudge before jumping off the bed, narrowly avoiding Chris' retaliation._

_"Jerk!" Chris called after him, hurling a pillow at his head which Mark ducked as he jogged backwards to the door._

_"Leave him alone Mark!" Came their grandmother's delayed yell from the bottom of the stairs just as Mark was leaving the room._

_"I don't know what you're talking 'bout." Chris heard Mark say innocently as he descended the stairs._

_Chris rolled his eyes and fell back against the mattress with a frustrated sigh. He turned his head to the side to look at his bedside table and reached over to grab his cell phone._

_As he was flicking through old text messages with limited interest, blushing at a select few from a certain someone, the screen lit up with an incoming call. Chris smiled at the name and immediately answered._

_"Hey." He said coyly, rolling back on to his front._

"Hey," _Daegan's deep voice sounded in his ear. _"What you doing?"

_"I was sleeping, but my stupid brother woke me up."_

_"_Sleeping at this time?" _Chris could hear the amusement in his voice._

_"Well if someone hadn't kept me out so late last night..."_

_He smiled at Daegan's light chuckle. _"Ah, ok. Does that mean you won't want to go out again today?"

_Chris suppressed a smile, biting softly on his bottom lip. "What'd you have in mind?"_

"Dunno, maybe we could go see a movie this afternoon for your birthday?"

_"But my birthday isn't for another week." Chris pointed out._

"So it's a pre-birthday movie then."

_Chris smiled, picking at the fluff on his duvet. "You're making me feel guilty, spending all this money on me."_

"You're worth it."

_Chris blushed and said nothing._

"So is two ok?"

_Chris nodded even though Daegan couldn't see him. "Yeah, two's good."_

"Ok, I'll see you then. On the corner again?"

_"Yeah, on the corner."_

"'Alright, bye."

_"Bye."_

_The call ended and Chris put the cell phone down on the bed. In a bid to make sure his brothers didn't find out about Daegan, he kept arranging for Daegan to pick him up on the corner of his street to avoid them seeing. As far as they knew "lover boy" as Mark dubbed him was nineteen years old, which was bad enough by far. A sophomore going out with someone that was out of high school? They hadn't been happy, far from it, but hadn't had the chance to grill him about it or even catch a glimpse of the guy. If they knew the real truth about Daegan... Chris shivered at the thought. He was 8 months older than Scott for god's sake! To say they would freak would be an understatement._

_After a few more moments of lying in the warmth of his dishevelled bed, Chris decided to get up. He grabbed some clothes from his wardrobe and left the room to go take a shower._

* * *

_Hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans, Chris walked along the sun washed sidewalk at a brisk pace. He could see his clouds of breath in the cool winter air and shivered, hunching up his shoulders to try and retain some warmth._

_He spotted the familiar car up ahead and smiled when he saw Daegan leaning casually against it, smoking a cigarette. Not a particularly nice habit, especially when it came to kissing, but Chris was quick to ignore it. Seeing that Daegan hadn't yet noticed him, Chris grinned and decided to sneak up on him. He left the sidewalk and sidled round the back of the car, creeping quietly behind him._

_Standing on his tip-toes, Chris reached up and placed his hands over Daegan's eyes. Daegan barely gave even a small start, knowing instantly who it was without even having to think._

_"Guess who." Chris said anyway with a grin._

_Daegan smiled, dropping his cigarette on to the frosted ground and placing his hands over Chris' smaller ones._

_"Hmm... Nathan?"_

_Chris frowned, dropping his hands on to Daegan's shoulders. "Who's Nathan?"_

_Daegan chuckled and turned around, pulling the teenager against him, arms around his waist. He bent and kissed him and Chris melted against him, his knees buckling slightly. There was no Nathan, but seeing Chris pout had been dead cute._

_"So," Daegan said when he broke the kiss, Chris giving a soft mew in disappointment. "Movie?"_

_Chris nodded and leaned in to kiss him again but Daegan leant back to open the car door and led a pouting Chris towards it. He smirked and patted Chris' butt as he climbed in to the car, closing the door behind him._

* * *

_The movie itself was alright, if not a bit short, but if Chris were honest he wasn't even sure what the story had been about. Probably because he had spent most of the time innocently making out with Daegan at the back of the dark cinema away from everyone else and had only caught a few snippets of it. By the end he had been left completely confused but decided that the kissing was far more enjoyable than some movie anyway._

_"It's only 4:15," Daegan said as they walked through the parking lot to his car, one arm around Chris' waist. "Want to go to the mall or something? Have a look around?"_

_"Sure." Chris smiled, then tilted his face upwards as Daegan leaned down to kiss him._

_They got into the car and Daegan drove them to the mall which was only 10 minutes away. All of the shops were still open and the place was bustling with people in the midst of some retail therapy; Couples holding hands, mother's pushing toddlers in strollers, people on cell phones, kids with their parents, groups of teenagers clowning around next to the large fountain, old couples sitting on benches. It was almost hard to hear over the large multitude of voices holding conversations and the splashing of the water fountain._

_Daegan kept a hold of Chris' hand so as not to lose each other and they strolled casually around the mall, looking in some of the shops with slight interest. Chris looked down at their joined hands and nearly smiled to himself. He liked having a boyfriend, especially one like Daegan. With Daegan he felt respected and genuinely cared for, and safe, like nothing bad could happen to him when Daegan was around. He'd never felt like that before, not with anyone._

_They entered a clothes store and separated as they looked at different things. Chris browsed various racks of t-shirts with mild interest and stopped at a rack of jeans, plucking at the first pair with his fingers. They were grey and slim cut with designed rips on the knees, not really something he would wear. There were only two pairs left, including that one, of that design on the rack._

_"Hey, they would look great on you." Daegan said from behind him as Chris went to walk away. Chris stopped and raised an eyebrow._

_"You think?" he replied with a laugh, not so convinced. Nonetheless, he picked them off the rack and held them against himself. He reached inside them, checking the label, then placed them back with an amused shake of the head, "Doesn't matter anyway, they're low stocked here." He joked. "Don't have my size." However Daegan was already plucking out the price tag while he still held them in his hands._

_"Here, I'll buy them for you." He said, taking them off of him._

_"What's the point in that?" Chris immediately protested with a laugh, grabbing on to the jeans to stop Daegan from taking them to the cash desk. "They're too small, they won't fit me. I don't want you wasting your money."_

_Daegan gave him a charming smile, gently tugging them from his grip. "Spending money on you isn't a waste. You'd look great in these so just get the smaller pair. You could fit into them with a bit of effort." And he winked at Chris before heading to the cashier, leaving Chris standing in the middle of the store feeling confused._

_What did he mean by that? He frowned at the back of Daegan's head but after a moment, shook it off. He wouldn't have meant anything bad by it, Daegan wasn't like that. So Chris headed over to him, forcing a smile on his face and trying his best to be excited about what he'd just been bought._

* * *

_It seemed to bother him a lot more than he would have originally thought. The entire time, between leaving the store and getting back in the car, he'd analysed what Daegan had said to him. Something so simple and probably completely innocent, and yet he was obsessing over it like this. So eventually, as he sat with the jeans on his lap in the car, he decided to bring it up._

_"Daegan?" He tentatively began, and watched as his boyfriend tore his eyes away from the road for a second to regard him questioningly._

_"What did you mean in the store, when you said I could fit into these with 'a bit of effort'?"_

_Daegan frowned softly, eyes back on the road. "Uh, well just what I said really. They don't fit you now but if you lost some weight they could."_

_Despite himself Chris felt a little stung at that. "You think I need to lose weight?"_

_Daegan sighed and shook his head, giving him a glance before his eyes were back on the road. "That's not what I meant."_

_"But do you?"_

_"No," Daegan insisted, though he didn't sound too convincing. He paused for thought for a moment. "Well, anyone looks good after dropping a bit of weight. But if you're happy with the way you look now then so am I."_

_Chris stared at him for a moment then tore his eyes away to look down at the carrier bag in his lap. He couldn't help but think that was an insult disguised with positivity, though he really didn't want to think like that at all. He was sure he was just being sensitive._

_Daegan sighed again. "Look, I never meant to upset you. We can take them back if you want."_

_"No," Chris said immediately and he gave Daegan what he hoped was a grateful smile. "I... thank you, I do really like them."_

_Daegan took one hand off the wheel and reached over, giving Chris' own hand a squeeze. "Anything for you."_

_"Can't wait to see you in them." He added, winking at him and releasing his hand so he could use both to turn the steering wheel._

_Chris smiled half heartedly in return then continued to stare down at the jeans in his lap._

* * *

_When he finally returned home that night he could hear the clattering of pots and pans in the kitchen and the familiar smell of spaghetti bolognaise came wafting to greet him. He closed the front door with a soft click and shrugged off his jacket, reaching over to hang it on the hook on the wall._

_"Chris is that you?" He heard his grandmother calling from the kitchen as he kicked off his sneakers._

_"Yeah." He called back, picking up the carrier bag containing his news jeans from the floor._

_His grandmother peeked her head around the doorframe to see him. "Good, you're just in time! Dinner will be ready in ten minutes so go get washed up."_

_"Where is everyone?"_

_"They're out back helping your grandfather assemble his new tool shed. They've been at it for hours." She replied, and then gave a despairing sigh. "Honestly, if they'd just read the instructions the first time then it would have been done all ready."_

_Chris grinned at the comment. "Yeah well what's new?" He headed to the stairs._

_"Ten minutes." His grandmother repeated and she disappeared back into the kitchen._

_Chris jogged up the stairs, taking two at a time, until he reached the landing and headed to his bedroom. Once inside he crossed the space to his bed and sat down upon it heavily with a sigh._

_He stared at the carrier bag in his hands then slowly withdrew the pair of jeans. He tossed the bag to the floor and unfolded the jeans, holding them out in front of him. He cocked his head as he regarded them, then stood up from the bed._

_Perhaps... they didn't look that much smaller than his usual size. In fact, they looked like they might fit. Maybe it was a case of this store having a different sizing scale to other stores?_

_He unbuttoned the jeans he was wearing and pulled them off, then stepped into the new ones. They were able to be pulled up his legs fairly easily and Chris grinned self-satisfyingly to himself._

_That was until it got to actually zipping them up. He pulled on the zip but could only get it halfway up, and the material felt tight around his hips. He frowned, but tried pulling the sides together. Maybe if he buttoned them first it would be easier to zip them. But he couldn't get the button and the hole to come together... the material refused to budge, no matter how hard he pulled on it._

_Chris let the edges go for a moment with a frustrated growl then glanced at his bed. He marched over to it and threw himself on to his back upon it. Lying stretched out, he tried again. Still wouldn't budge. He planted his feet flat on the bed and arched his hips up, so that his lower back was off the bed and his upper back still upon it. Gritting his teeth, he pulled hard on the material, trying to get it to come together._

_It was no use. They were too small for him, no amount of straining and fighting was going to make them fit. Chris thumped the mattress in complete frustration and let his lower back connect with the bed once again. Despite himself, he felt tears stinging his eyes and he sat up abruptly, trying to deny their arrival._

_This was ridiculous, it was only a pair of jeans! He'd never worn clothes this size and it had never bothered him remotely before. So why did it now?_

_He climbed off the bed and approached his floor length mirror. His mirror image stared back at him, eyes raking over the garment that refused to fit. But why didn't they fit? Obviously there were people that could wear this size. Was he so much bigger than them?_

_He pulled up his t-shirt so it revealed all of his stomach and turned to the side. Chris had been called names throughout school before, typical playground name-calling that occurred between immature sniggering children, but never had one of those words been "fat". It had never occurred to him. He ate like a horse, like all of his brothers did and his dad before he died, and never seemed to gain an ounce._

_Or did he? Maybe he just didn't notice. He prodded his belly once with his index finger, then again. Maybe... maybe he could gain to lose a pound or two. Or three? Maybe the size of these jeans was the size he was supposed to be and he had just never realised before?_

_Chris sighed, shaking his head and pushing the thoughts from his mind. He sounded like a girl! Boys weren't supposed to worry about their weight like this. He dropped his t-shirt and moved away from the mirror, pushing the jeans down as he did so. Once they were around his ankles, he stepped out from one leg then used the other to propel them with a kick to the other side of the room._

_A comfortable sigh left his lips as he pulled on his old jeans. They fit well and zipped up without complaint._

_"Dinner's ready!" He heard his grandmother call from downstairs._

_With one last glare to the crumpled jeans lying in a pile in the corner of the room, Chris left his bedroom. The smell of spaghetti was strong now as he descended the stairs and he gladly welcomed the warmth that spread over him as he entered the kitchen. His brothers and grandfather were already sat at the table, waiting eagerly from Mary to place their bowls of pasta in from of them._

_Chris sat down in his usual seat and accepted the pitcher of orange squash that Scott passed to him, pouring some of the juice into his glass tumbler. There was a comfortable chatter between his brothers and George as they discussed their exertions in the yard, and the slightly mocking tone coming from Mary as she chided them from not reading the instructions to begin with, though there was the warmth of amusement behind her words. Chris was content to listen to them instead of engaging in conversation, lifting his tumbler to gulp down some of the juice._

_"Here you go dear." Mary said affectionately, placing a rather large bowl of spaghetti bolognaise in front of him. Chris thanked her and she went to sit in her own seat._

_He placed the glass back on the table and picked up his fork, about to dig into the spaghetti with vigour. But something made him pause. He stared down at the meal in front of him and the sight of it began to take on a new meaning. The strands upon strands of spaghetti were like long, thin worms, curled around each other in a tangled mountain of carbohydrates. The mince and tomato sauce glistened in the artificial light, ladled on top of the worms with careless abandon, dribbling down into all the crevices, some of it pooling in the bottom of the bowl. The whole concoction was so rich, so flavour full, so...so _fattening_._

_All of a sudden the hunger pangs that had clawed at the walls of his stomach were dulled and replaced by a feeling of nausea as he continued to stare at the glistening meat. He regarded the large portion his grandmother had given him and realised this was the amount he ate every day._

_No wonder those jeans didn't fit. It was a wonder any of his clothes did!_

_He lifted his eyes and watched his brothers eating. Mark was shovelling the spaghetti into his mouth like someone was going to burst into the kitchen and tear the bowl away from him at any moment, and Charlie was much the same. Did he do that too without even realising?_

_His eyes met the meal in front of him again. Once something he'd enjoyed, he now realised just how bad for him it probably was. All the saturated fat from the meat, it was bound to be clogging his arteries, or something. He placed his fork, still clean, back on to the table._

_Mary regarded him curiously. "Everything alright dear?"_

_Chris cleared his throat. "Yeah... I'm just not hungry. I had a lot to eat out." The lie slipped easily off his tongue._

_She looked mildly annoyed and sighed with a shake of her head. "You should have told me! I could have kept that extra mince for the cottage pie I'm making tomorrow."_

_"I'm sorry, won't happen again." He lifted his gaze to meet hers and tried to look as apologetic as possible._

_"Pass it here!" Mark said, mouth full of food, stretching his arm out for Chris' bowl. Chris passed it to him and he happily shovelled it on top of his own portion._

_"Hey gimme some of that you pig!" Scott chided, digging his fork into the pasta and pulling some of it on to his own bowl. Mark grumbled but didn't put up a fight, for once._

_"If you're not eating you can be excused, if you want." Mary said to Chris, ignoring the two. Chris nodded with a grateful smile, pushing his chair back and standing up. He left the kitchen and took the stairs once again to his bedroom._

_Once inside he closed the door and sat down on the edge of his bed. From here he could see his reflection in the mirror, and also the pair of jeans crumpled in the corner. He stared at the jeans for a moment, then looked at his reflection, then back at the jeans._

_Minutes passed and his eyes glazed over as he sat in distant thought._

_He shook his head, trying to clear away the fog in his brain and turned his back on the mirror. He crawled up the mattress and collapsed on to side, pulling his knees up near to his chest. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out, glancing at the screen._

_A text from Daegan._

**I can't stop thinking about you. What you doing?**

_Chris quickly formed a reply with one hand, his thumb darting expertly around the buttons like any typical teenager._

**Just lying here thinking.**

_There was a pause of all of thirty seconds before his phone vibrated in his hand once again._

**About what? Me? ;)**

_Despite his low mood, Chris couldn't help but smile at Daegan's flirtatiousness. He had a sudden longing to see the man, to be held against his chest with those strong arms encircling him, keeping him safe._

**You wish. I could use a hug right now though.**

_The reply was swift, like before._

**I'm giving you one, can't you feel it? **

_Chris smiled again, but it was accompanied by a prickling of tears and he didn't know why._

**Yeah, I feel it. But not as good as the real thing.**

_A brief pause._

**I'll be sure to make up for it tomorrow. Something bothering you?**

_This time Chris wasn't really sure what to reply with. What could he say? He didn't want to bring up the jeans again – Daegan had already made it clear he hadn't meant the comment maliciously, and Chris believed him. And to be honest, he wasn't even sure if that was the reason he was upset. He didn't know what to think._

**Nothing a good sleep can't fix. Don't worry bout me :)**

_He'd added the smiley face hoping to mask how he was really feeling. Texts were good like that. Or so he thought, until he received Daegan's reply._

**Too late. I hope it's not because of me?**

**No, just me. **_Chris paused for a moment and added a bit on the end to again try and lighten things up a bit._ **It'll be hormones or something :P**

**Huh, I've heard of that excuse before. Not entirely buying it, but I'll let it go. So we can meet up tomorrow?**

_Chris didn't have to give it much thought._

**I'd like that. I can meet you in the school parking lot after school lets out.**

_Another quick reply._

**It's a date. I can give you that hug. And perhaps a kiss to go along with it?**

_Chris smiled and those familiar butterflies darted around his stomach._

**Maybe, you'll have to wait and see.**

_One last pause._

**I look forward to it. Until tomorrow then xxx**

_It took Chris merely seconds to form his goodbye _(**Cya tomorrow xxx**) _then he placed the phone on his bedside table, knowing it was unlikely he'd be receiving any more texts from Daegan tonight. Pangs of hunger now assaulted his stomach and he wondered if it was too late to head downstairs and salvage something-_

_No. It was obvious he was eating too much of the wrong thing. It was good that he'd not indulged on all that fatty bolognaise, right? He'd over-indulged for too long._

_Now he just had to convince his stomach of that as it growled and wailed in protest. It would be a fresh start tomorrow he reminded himself, all healthy meals. Loads of fruit and vegetables, and all that stuff. All the things that wouldn't do him any more damage. He wrapped his arms around his mid-section and screwed his eyes shut tight. If he fell asleep he wouldn't be able to feel it anymore, then he could wake up and have a nice, healthy breakfast._

_The only thing that lessened his concentration on the hunger was the thought of seeing Daegan again. Thoughts of being held close and kissed, made to feel like all his troubles were melting away into oblivion. These thoughts alone managed to lull Chris into a gentle sleep, hunger forgotten. For now at least._

* * *

And done! I hope it met your expectations... Let me know your thoughts and opinions, I alway love to hear them!

A few quick notes before you go: 'More than what meets the eye' shouldn't be too long after this, but I'm too afraid to put a deadline on it incase I don't make it. So just assume it'll be updated _soon-ish_.

I'm also thinking of changing my pen name. Don't know what to yet though.. I was just thinking about how it irritates me when people go 'Yeah I'm so crazy! A total nutjob! I sacrifice stuffed animals in my spare time!' then I look at my pen name and then it's all 'Wow, hypocrite much?' xD I was a few years younger when I thought it up, and now I'm feeling it needs to be changed to something else. But I need to think of something first! I'd just thought I'd say though, incase I change it then update a story and you think someone's pinched one of my fics or something.

Thanks for not sacrificing me for taking so long!


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